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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. prune — to trim
  5. file — a tool
  6. root — of a word
  7. root — of a plant
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. file — a line of people
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cap — a lid
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. root — the cause
  22. stock — shares
  23. file — a document
  24. squash — the vegetable

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