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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: ball · stock · press · prune · fork · march · rash · fall

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. ball — a great time
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. press — to push
  8. ball — a dance
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fall — the season
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. march — the month
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. prune — to trim
  16. press — a publisher
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. march — music
  19. stock — shares
  20. rash — a series
  21. press — newspapers
  22. rash — hasty
  23. prune — to trim
  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