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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: stick · rash · capital · prune · stock · fork · game · tear

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. stock — goods
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. game — a match
  6. fork — in a road
  7. stock — shares
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — money
  10. rash — a series
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rash — hasty
  21. capital — a city
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. game — wild animals

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