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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. fine — high quality
  3. pit — in a race
  4. root — of a plant
  5. stock — goods
  6. clip — a video
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — a series
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. season — in sport
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stock — shares
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. pit — a hole
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — the cause

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