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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 120 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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. stock — goods
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bear — the animal
  7. object — a thing
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. field — for sport
  10. object — an aim
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. object — to protest
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. pop — soda
  16. capital — money
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bear — the animal
  19. field — a subject
  20. prune — to trim
  21. tear — to rip
  22. field — farmland
  23. capital — a city
  24. bear — to put up with

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