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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. land — a country
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. root — of a plant
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. wind — moving air
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bass — low music
  9. land — to come down
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. stock — goods
  13. root — the cause
  14. craft — boats
  15. land — ground
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. root — of a word
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. plane — a tool
  23. stock — shares
  24. bat — the animal

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