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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 120 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. row — to paddle
  4. root — the cause
  5. race — humankind
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. root — of a plant
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. stock — goods
  10. row — a line
  11. stock — shares
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. root — of a word
  17. content — happy
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. face — to point toward
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — a contest
  24. face — part of the head

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