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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. ground — a position
  3. root — of a word
  4. last — final
  5. root — of a plant
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mine — for digging
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. pitch — completely
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. court — for sport
  16. ground — crushed
  17. root — the cause
  18. stock — goods
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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