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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: net · stock · court · lash · bear · field · prune · sharp

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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. sharp — with an edge
  4. field — a subject
  5. court — for sport
  6. prune — to trim
  7. court — of a king
  8. field — farmland
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. net — in sport
  14. court — of law
  15. bear — the animal
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. net — after costs
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. net — for catching
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. bear — the animal
  22. stock — shares
  23. field — for sport
  24. bear — to put up with

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