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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. root — of a plant
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. tear — from crying
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. tube — the underground
  10. squash — to crush
  11. tube — a container
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. spring — of water
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. root — the cause
  16. stock — shares
  17. squash — the sport
  18. root — of a word
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. tear — from crying
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. tear — to rip
  24. squash — the vegetable

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