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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. chip — for betting
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. stock — shares
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cap — a lid
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. stock — goods
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rush — hurry
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cold — not warm
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — to eat
  16. root — the cause
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mine — for digging
  21. root — of a word
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. bat — for baseball

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