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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: snap · stock · pop · mine · band · net · staff · prune

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. band — a ring
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. stock — goods
  5. pop — to visit
  6. net — after costs
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. staff — employees
  10. stock — shares
  11. prune — to trim
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. net — for catching
  14. band — a music group
  15. net — in sport
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pop — soda
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. staff — employees
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pop — music
  22. snap — to click
  23. staff — a stick
  24. mine — an explosive

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