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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: prune · chest · rest · stock · land · wake · present · fork

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wake — a trail
  6. present — the time now
  7. rest — what's left
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. present — a gift
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. land — to come down
  12. rest — a break
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stock — goods
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stock — shares
  17. land — ground
  18. present — there
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. rest — what's left
  22. land — a country
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fork — in a road

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