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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spell — magic
  3. land — a country
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. land — ground
  6. root — of a word
  7. stock — goods
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. stock — shares
  11. spell — a short time
  12. root — of a plant
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bear — the animal
  17. land — to come down
  18. season — in sport
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. root — the cause
  22. season — of the year
  23. wound — an injury
  24. spell — letters

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