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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. root — of a plant
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rock — music
  5. last — finally
  6. last — to go on
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. rock — a stone
  10. stock — shares
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. capital — a city
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. last — final
  15. content — the amount
  16. root — the cause
  17. stock — goods
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. root — of a word
  24. content — happy

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