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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 124 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. march — the month
  3. key — in music
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stock — goods
  8. march — the month
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. swing — music
  11. foot — a measure
  12. key — for a lock
  13. swing — to play on
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. swing — in golf
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mine — for digging
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. key — the most important part
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. march — music
  24. foot — the bottom

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