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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 · snap · sharp · board · pass · scale · kid · stock

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. kid — to tease
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stock — goods
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. board — to get on
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. snap — to click
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — shares
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. kid — child
  16. sharp — clever
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. scale — in music
  20. board — a committee
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. scale — size or range
  23. pass — a permit
  24. scale — for weighing

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