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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. root — the cause
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. stock — goods
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. prune — to trim
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. stock — shares
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. root — of a plant
  17. saw — the tool
  18. track — a song
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bat — for baseball
  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