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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. capital — a city
  3. root — of a plant
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bear — the animal
  9. stock — goods
  10. net — in sport
  11. root — of a word
  12. stock — shares
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pop — soda
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. pop — music
  20. capital — money
  21. spring — of water
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. root — the cause
  24. pitch — completely

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