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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 116 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: stock · hide · season · kid · nail · ground · prune · march

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. ground — crushed
  3. march — music
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. kid — child
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kid — to tease
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. season — of the year
  11. march — the month
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. ground — the earth
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — goods
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. march — the month
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. ground — a position

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