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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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. prune — the fruit
  4. firm — decided
  5. court — for sport
  6. band — a ring
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. firm — a company
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. court — of a king
  12. pit — a hole
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. perch — the fish
  15. wind — moving air
  16. band — a music group
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wind — moving air
  19. firm — steady
  20. prune — to trim
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. court — of law
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — shares

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