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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 was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. root — of a word
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. root — of a plant
  6. net — in sport
  7. shower — to wash
  8. rest — a break
  9. root — the cause
  10. saw — the tool
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. net — for catching
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — a subject
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. stock — shares
  18. rest — what's left
  19. kick — in football
  20. shower — rain
  21. rest — what's left
  22. stock — goods
  23. field — for sport
  24. saw — the tool

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