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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. root — of a plant
  8. dip — to sink
  9. stock — shares
  10. net — for catching
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. spell — magic
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. mark — a trace
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. spell — a short time
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — the cause
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. net — after costs
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. spell — letters

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