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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. pop — to visit
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. stock — shares
  13. stand — to bear
  14. pop — music
  15. stock — goods
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. pop — soda
  19. root — of a word
  20. bear — the animal
  21. root — the cause
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. net — after costs

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