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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: cold · rest · prune · arm · track · firm · jam · stock

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. track — a path
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. cold — not warm
  6. firm — decided
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stock — goods
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. rest — a break
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rest — what's left
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. firm — steady
  18. track — a song
  19. prune — to trim
  20. firm — a company
  21. track — to keep track
  22. stock — shares
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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