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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: prune · game · wind · snap · craft · stock · fine · toast

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. game — wild animals
  4. craft — a skill
  5. prune — to trim
  6. snap — to click
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. craft — boats
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. stock — shares
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. prune — to trim
  19. toast — bread
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. game — a match
  22. wind — moving air
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. stock — goods

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