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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. cold — an illness
  3. root — of a plant
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. ground — crushed
  7. board — a committee
  8. cold — not warm
  9. root — of a word
  10. kick — in football
  11. ground — a position
  12. stock — shares
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bass — low music
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. board — to get on
  20. stock — goods
  21. bass — the fish
  22. pit — in a race
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. root — the cause

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