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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stock — goods
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. net — in sport
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. net — after costs
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — a weight
  11. bark — to shout
  12. prune — to trim
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. stock — shares
  20. content — happy
  21. net — for catching
  22. content — the amount
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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