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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 120 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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. spring — of water
  3. root — of a word
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. row — to paddle
  6. capital — money
  7. current — electric
  8. track — a path
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. current — of water
  12. capital — a city
  13. bulb — for light
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. current — happening now
  17. track — a song
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. track — to keep track
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a plant
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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