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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 120 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. mine — for digging
  5. root — the cause
  6. spell — letters
  7. stock — shares
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. root — of a word
  10. key — for a lock
  11. row — to paddle
  12. key — in music
  13. snap — to click
  14. root — of a plant
  15. row — a line
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. spell — magic
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. spell — a short time
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — for light

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