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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wake — a trail
  3. mine — for digging
  4. kid — to tease
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. hand — in cards
  7. kid — child
  8. prune — to trim
  9. date — the fruit
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. stock — shares
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. fine — high quality
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. fine — all right
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. hand — help
  24. mine — an explosive

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