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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  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. game — a match
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. root — of a word
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. root — the cause
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. root — of a plant
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. object — a thing
  15. ground — a position
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. march — the month
  19. object — to protest
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. object — an aim
  22. game — wild animals
  23. racket — for tennis
  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