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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. foot — a measure
  4. kid — child
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. file — a document
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. chest — a box
  9. stock — goods
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — of a plant
  13. file — a line of people
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. kid — to tease
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. file — a tool
  18. bass — the fish
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bass — low music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stock — shares
  24. season — in sport

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