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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. rock — a stone
  11. root — of a plant
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. root — the cause
  14. rest — what's left
  15. saw — the tool
  16. rest — what's left
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rest — a break
  19. band — a music group
  20. stock — goods
  21. band — a ring
  22. root — of a word
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. spring — of water

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