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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 116 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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bore — to tire
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. suit — to fit
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. suit — in cards
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bore — to drill
  16. wound — an injury
  17. snap — to click
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wound — an injury
  20. suit — clothes
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. prune — to trim
  23. branch — a division
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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