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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  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 — shares
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. stock — goods
  4. rash — a series
  5. bound — obliged
  6. cue — a hint
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. spring — the season
  9. cue — for pool
  10. rash — hasty
  11. spring — of water
  12. bound — tied together
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cue — a signal
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bound — certain
  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