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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. stock — goods
  3. ball — a dance
  4. root — the cause
  5. root — of a word
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. ball — a great time
  9. hand — help
  10. tube — a container
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bound — obliged
  14. net — after costs
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — shares
  19. bound — certain
  20. net — for catching
  21. bound — tied together
  22. root — of a plant
  23. net — in sport
  24. hand — in cards

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