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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. press — to push
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — to get on
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. field — for sport
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. press — a publisher
  12. prune — to trim
  13. field — a subject
  14. wind — moving air
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stock — shares
  19. field — farmland
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. shower — to wash
  22. press — newspapers
  23. shower — rain
  24. stock — goods

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