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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. stock — goods
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. root — the cause
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bat — the animal
  8. firm — a company
  9. cold — not warm
  10. firm — steady
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cold — an illness
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. stock — shares
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bass — low music
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. scale — size or range
  19. root — of a word
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. scale — in music
  23. firm — decided
  24. bass — the fish

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