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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. stock — shares
  4. root — of a plant
  5. spring — the season
  6. file — a line of people
  7. track — to keep track
  8. stock — goods
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. root — of a word
  14. spell — magic
  15. track — a song
  16. file — a document
  17. track — a path
  18. spell — letters
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. spell — a short time
  22. branch — a division
  23. root — the cause
  24. file — a tool

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