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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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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: stock · cell · game · swing · prune · file · rash · march

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. stock — goods
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rash — a series
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. march — the month
  7. swing — to play on
  8. march — the month
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. file — a tool
  14. cell — in biology
  15. file — a document
  16. rash — hasty
  17. march — music
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cell — a phone
  20. prune — to trim
  21. swing — in golf
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stock — shares

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