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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: prune · date · coach · bat · stock · ball · shower · root

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. prune — to trim
  4. shower — rain
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. shower — to wash
  7. root — the cause
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. ball — a great time
  12. prune — to trim
  13. root — of a plant
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. ball — a dance
  19. root — of a word
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bat — the animal

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