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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: fork · shower · date · game · deal · wave · prune · stock

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. prune — to trim
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. deal — to handle
  17. shower — rain
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stock — shares
  21. game — a match
  22. shower — to wash
  23. fork — in a road
  24. date — on the calendar

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