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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. prune — to trim
  4. stock — shares
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. last — to go on
  7. object — a thing
  8. lean — to bend
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. stock — goods
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. last — finally
  13. lean — thin
  14. track — a path
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. season — in sport
  17. track — to keep track
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fork — in a road
  20. last — final
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. track — a song
  23. object — an aim
  24. season — of the year

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