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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. root — the cause
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. file — a line of people
  6. perch — the fish
  7. wind — moving air
  8. root — of a word
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. file — a document
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. roll — a list
  14. stock — goods
  15. roll — a cake
  16. cell — in biology
  17. stock — shares
  18. file — a tool
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wind — moving air
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. root — of a plant

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