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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. root — the cause
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. track — a path
  5. wake — a trail
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. clip — to cut
  9. track — to keep track
  10. stock — shares
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. track — a song
  16. stock — goods
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cell — in biology
  19. clip — a video
  20. fork — in a road
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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