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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: date · club · prune · rash · cue · snap · last · stock

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. stock — goods
  3. club — for golf
  4. prune — to trim
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. snap — to click
  8. club — a group
  9. rash — hasty
  10. last — to go on
  11. rash — a series
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stock — shares
  14. club — for dancing
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — the fruit
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. cue — a signal
  21. last — finally
  22. cue — for pool
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cue — a hint

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