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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. land — ground
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. stock — shares
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. stock — goods
  11. staff — employees
  12. mark — a grade
  13. last — to go on
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. land — a country
  16. root — of a plant
  17. kick — in football
  18. root — the cause
  19. mark — a trace
  20. land — to come down
  21. last — finally
  22. staff — a stick
  23. last — final
  24. staff — employees

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