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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bank — of a river
  3. stock — shares
  4. spring — a coil
  5. root — of a word
  6. bank — for money
  7. face — to point toward
  8. content — the amount
  9. stock — goods
  10. file — a line of people
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. face — to confront
  15. file — a tool
  16. spring — of water
  17. bank — for money
  18. face — part of the head
  19. file — a document
  20. root — of a plant
  21. rule — government
  22. root — the cause
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — a law

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