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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mine · stock · object · lie · prune · bulb · court · content

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. object — an aim
  5. bulb — for light
  6. court — for sport
  7. object — to protest
  8. lie — to recline
  9. object — a thing
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. content — happy
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. court — of law
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. prune — to trim
  17. court — of a king
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. mine — for digging
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bulb — for light
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

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