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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  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. staff — employees
  2. spring — a coil
  3. object — a thing
  4. race — the arms race
  5. stock — shares
  6. spring — of water
  7. current — electric
  8. staff — a stick
  9. spring — the season
  10. race — a contest
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. root — of a plant
  15. current — happening now
  16. root — of a word
  17. object — to protest
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. current — of water
  20. object — an aim
  21. race — humankind
  22. staff — employees
  23. stock — goods
  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