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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. root — of a plant
  5. net — for catching
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. stock — goods
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. spring — a coil
  14. root — of a word
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. root — the cause
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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