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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: rule · mark · game · cap · prune · rush · stock · field

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. rush — hurry
  3. field — a subject
  4. cap — a hat
  5. game — a match
  6. mark — a trace
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. game — wild animals
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. field — farmland
  15. stock — goods
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rule — a law
  19. stock — shares
  20. field — for sport
  21. rule — government
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a lid

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