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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. root — of a word
  4. stock — goods
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — completely
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. root — of a plant
  9. degree — from a university
  10. object — to protest
  11. band — a ring
  12. object — a thing
  13. degree — an amount
  14. stock — shares
  15. degree — temperature
  16. root — the cause
  17. band — a music group
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — in control
  20. squash — to crush
  21. object — an aim
  22. squash — the sport
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. band — a rubber band

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