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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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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: mine · key · pound · row · stock · wake · kid · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. kid — child
  3. row — a line
  4. stock — goods
  5. row — to paddle
  6. kid — to tease
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wake — a trail
  15. key — in music
  16. key — the most important part
  17. key — for a lock
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stock — shares
  24. pound — for dogs

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