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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 124 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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. chest — a box
  3. stock — shares
  4. spring — of water
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stock — goods
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. spring — the season
  9. pitch — completely
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. root — of a plant
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. root — of a word
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. current — happening now
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. root — the cause
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. spring — a coil
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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