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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 · wake · season · mate · snap · stock · wound · pop

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wake — a trail
  3. stock — shares
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. season — of the year
  6. pop — music
  7. prune — to trim
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wound — an injury
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stock — goods
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mate — a friend
  15. pop — soda
  16. wound — an injury
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. pop — to visit
  20. mate — to breed
  21. snap — to click
  22. season — in sport
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stock — a soup base

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