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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: fork · stock · row · game · prune · content · rest · firm

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. row — a line
  3. rest — what's left
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. content — the amount
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — goods
  11. firm — a company
  12. prune — to trim
  13. game — wild animals
  14. content — happy
  15. fork — in a road
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. firm — steady
  18. firm — decided
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. prune — to trim
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rest — a break

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