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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. degree — temperature
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. spring — the season
  14. capital — a city
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. spring — a coil
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. root — of a plant
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. capital — money
  21. spring — of water
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  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