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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: cap · season · snap · stock · content · pitcher · bat · prune

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bat — the animal
  3. content — the amount
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cap — a lid
  6. stock — shares
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. season — in sport
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cap — a hat
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. snap — to click
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cap — of ice

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