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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stock — goods
  4. ground — crushed
  5. stock — shares
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. last — to go on
  9. field — farmland
  10. last — finally
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. field — for sport
  17. prune — to trim
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. game — a match
  20. ground — a position
  21. field — a subject
  22. game — wild animals
  23. last — final
  24. rule — a law

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