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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 120 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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. lie — to recline
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. root — of a plant
  8. stock — shares
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. root — of a word
  11. mine — for digging
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. chip — to eat
  17. stem — to come from
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. row — a line
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. row — to paddle
  23. root — the cause
  24. chip — for betting

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