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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. stock — goods
  5. pop — music
  6. cap — a hat
  7. fall — the season
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bass — the fish
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pop — soda
  14. net — for catching
  15. spell — magic
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bass — low music
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cap — of ice
  22. spell — letters
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. prune — the fruit

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