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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. game — wild animals
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bulb — for light
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a word
  9. rock — music
  10. degree — from a university
  11. season — of the year
  12. stock — shares
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. season — in sport
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. bound — tied together
  21. root — of a plant
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rock — a stone
  24. stock — goods

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