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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 116 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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. root — of a plant
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cold — not warm
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. cold — an illness
  7. root — the cause
  8. hand — in cards
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. board — to get on
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. hand — help
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stock — goods
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. capital — a city
  18. stock — shares
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. capital — money
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — music
  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