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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: spring · board · fall · stock · prune · rule · pop · bass

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. fall — the season
  3. bass — the fish
  4. spring — the season
  5. bass — low music
  6. pop — music
  7. board — a committee
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stock — shares
  12. spring — of water
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pop — to visit
  15. spring — a coil
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rule — a law
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pop — soda
  20. stock — goods
  21. board — to get on
  22. rule — government
  23. fall — to drop
  24. prune — the fruit

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