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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. stock — goods
  5. net — in sport
  6. tear — to rip
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. prune — to trim
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — to handle
  13. cell — in biology
  14. swing — to play on
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. net — for catching
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. tear — from crying
  20. net — after costs
  21. swing — in golf
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cell — a phone

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