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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. prune — to trim
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. content — happy
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. net — for catching
  7. ground — the earth
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. spring — of water
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. ground — a position
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. net — in sport
  16. prune — to trim
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. net — after costs
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. content — the amount
  22. spring — the season
  23. stock — shares
  24. spring — a coil

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