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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cell — a phone
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — the cause
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mug — a cup
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. stock — goods
  15. vault — a safe
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. root — of a plant
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. shower — rain
  20. cell — in biology
  21. mug — a face
  22. rash — hasty
  23. mug — to rob
  24. rash — a series

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