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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. key — in music
  3. root — of a word
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. tear — from crying
  6. court — of law
  7. root — the cause
  8. court — of a king
  9. root — of a plant
  10. stock — goods
  11. chip — for betting
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. tear — to rip
  16. degree — temperature
  17. court — for sport
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. degree — from a university
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — the most important part
  23. chip — to eat
  24. march — music

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