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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. root — of a word
  4. content — happy
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. bulb — for light
  8. court — of law
  9. mark — a grade
  10. stock — goods
  11. file — a line of people
  12. court — for sport
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bulb — for light
  16. root — the cause
  17. file — a document
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. mark — a trace
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. root — of a plant
  22. court — of a king
  23. content — the amount
  24. bulb — of a plant

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