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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. court — of a king
  7. stock — shares
  8. cell — in biology
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cell — a phone
  13. stock — goods
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. court — of law
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bass — low music
  20. drill — the tool
  21. rock — music
  22. court — for sport
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. drill — army training

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