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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. root — of a plant
  3. capital — money
  4. march — the month
  5. capital — a city
  6. march — music
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. march — the month
  11. stock — goods
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. root — the cause
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. root — of a word
  24. stock — shares

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