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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. row — to paddle
  4. scale — size or range
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stock — shares
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stock — goods
  9. track — to keep track
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — crushed
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. mark — a trace
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. track — a path
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. scale — in music
  20. mark — a grade
  21. ground — a position
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. track — a song

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