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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. dip — to sink
  3. chip — for betting
  4. stock — goods
  5. rule — a law
  6. root — of a plant
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. stock — shares
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. chip — to eat
  13. root — the cause
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cold — an illness
  17. root — of a word
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bat — the animal
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rule — government

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