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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 · prune · march · stock · safe · ruler · pound · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stock — shares
  3. march — music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stock — goods
  14. pound — a weight
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. march — the month
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. march — the month
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. safe — a strongbox

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