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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. dip — to sink
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. fine — all right
  5. hand — help
  6. clip — a video
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. fine — high quality
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. root — of a word
  12. stock — shares
  13. court — of a king
  14. hand — in cards
  15. root — of a plant
  16. clip — for paper
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. board — to get on
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stock — goods
  22. board — a committee
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. root — the cause

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