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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: mark · prune · ball · ground · wind · date · rush · stock

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. mark — a grade
  5. ball — a great time
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stock — goods
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. stock — shares
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mark — a trace
  19. rush — hurry
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. ball — a dance
  22. wind — moving air
  23. date — the fruit
  24. ground — the earth

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