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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ground — the earth
  3. stock — shares
  4. chest — a box
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. kid — child
  10. ground — a position
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. tube — the underground
  13. chest — of your body
  14. kid — to tease
  15. stock — goods
  16. tube — a container
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. ground — crushed
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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