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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: present · court · kid · firm · march · stock · rule · prune

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. present — a gift
  3. rule — a law
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. court — of law
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kid — child
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. march — the month
  10. stock — goods
  11. firm — a company
  12. firm — steady
  13. march — the month
  14. prune — to trim
  15. court — for sport
  16. present — there
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. present — the time now
  20. rule — government
  21. firm — decided
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. court — of a king

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