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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — shares
  8. game — a match
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a word
  15. cue — a signal
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. root — of a plant
  18. spell — magic
  19. rash — a series
  20. cue — a hint
  21. spell — letters
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cue — for pool
  24. game — wild animals

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