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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a song
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. ground — the earth
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — goods
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. prune — to trim
  18. deal — to handle
  19. mine — for digging
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. ground — a position
  22. pop — soda
  23. track — a path
  24. pop — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com