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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stock — shares
  3. root — the cause
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. stem — to come from
  16. net — in sport
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. cold — an illness
  20. root — of a plant
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. root — of a word

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