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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: wound · pop · mug · stock · court · chest · hand · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wound — an injury
  3. court — of law
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pop — soda
  7. mug — a face
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. court — for sport
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pop — music
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. hand — help
  19. court — of a king
  20. stock — shares
  21. pop — to visit
  22. chest — a box
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chest — of your body

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