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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. staff — a stick
  3. root — of a word
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. deal — to handle
  7. sharp — clever
  8. chest — a box
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. staff — employees
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. stock — shares
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. staff — employees
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stock — goods
  24. chest — of your body

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