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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: chest · last · present · content · land · prune · stock · season

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  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. stock — shares
  2. land — a country
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. season — of the year
  6. chest — of your body
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. last — finally
  9. stock — goods
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. content — the amount
  12. chest — a box
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. last — to go on
  17. land — to come down
  18. last — final
  19. season — in sport
  20. present — there
  21. land — ground
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. content — happy
  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