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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. court — of law
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. court — for sport
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. present — there
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stock — shares
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. prune — to trim
  13. court — of a king
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. present — the time now
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. stock — goods
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. pound — a weight

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