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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. root — of a plant
  4. prune — to trim
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. root — the cause
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stock — goods
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pop — soda
  13. chest — a box
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — music
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pop — music
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. cell — in biology
  24. root — of a word

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