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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — to come from
  10. fall — the season
  11. race — a contest
  12. press — to push
  13. pop — soda
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — humankind
  16. staff — a stick
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. prune — to trim
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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