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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 116 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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. root — of a word
  3. season — of the year
  4. stock — shares
  5. cap — a lid
  6. last — to go on
  7. root — of a plant
  8. ground — the earth
  9. capital — a city
  10. stock — goods
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. root — the cause
  13. cap — a hat
  14. capital — money
  15. ground — a position
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. ground — crushed
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. season — in sport
  20. last — final
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cap — of ice
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. last — finally

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