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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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. tube — a container
  3. perch — the fish
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. root — of a plant
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. tube — the underground
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stock — goods
  12. root — of a word
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — magic
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. spell — letters
  22. stock — shares
  23. root — the cause
  24. spell — a short time

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