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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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. cap — of ice
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. wind — moving air
  6. last — final
  7. wind — moving air
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. cap — a lid
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. branch — a division
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. prune — to trim
  17. season — of the year
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. last — finally
  20. stock — shares
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cap — a hat
  23. season — in sport
  24. last — to go on

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