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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: deal · last · pitch · prune · stock · march · safe · pop

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. march — the month
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — shares
  7. last — final
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. last — to go on
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. pop — music
  12. deal — to handle
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. pop — soda
  17. prune — to trim
  18. march — music
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pop — to visit
  21. last — finally
  22. pitch — completely
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. march — the month

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