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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. rush — hurry
  3. stock — shares
  4. spring — of water
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wake — a trail
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. spring — the season
  9. net — after costs
  10. object — to protest
  11. root — of a word
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. root — of a plant
  15. net — in sport
  16. object — an aim
  17. net — for catching
  18. branch — a division
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. object — a thing
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. stock — goods
  24. spring — a coil

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