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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. stock — shares
  3. ground — a position
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. stock — goods
  7. ground — crushed
  8. root — the cause
  9. ground — the earth
  10. present — a gift
  11. root — of a plant
  12. craft — boats
  13. pit — in a race
  14. spell — magic
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. present — there
  19. spell — a short time
  20. present — the time now
  21. spell — letters
  22. craft — a skill
  23. root — of a word
  24. stock — a soup base

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