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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. face — part of the head
  3. stock — goods
  4. cell — in biology
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cell — a phone
  8. face — to confront
  9. drill — army training
  10. root — of a plant
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. drill — a practice
  16. press — to push
  17. stock — shares
  18. last — finally
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — newspapers
  21. drill — the tool
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. root — the cause

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