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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. pit — in a race
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. fine — high quality
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stock — goods
  9. pit — a hole
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. fine — all right
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. fork — in a road
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. stock — shares
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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