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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 water is too ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wound — an injury
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — government
  6. stock — goods
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. last — finally
  9. stock — shares
  10. root — of a plant
  11. craft — a skill
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. last — final
  16. craft — boats
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. root — the cause
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. cold — an illness
  23. last — to go on
  24. root — of a word

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