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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. root — of a plant
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. file — a tool
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cell — in biology
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stock — shares
  15. file — a line of people
  16. root — of a word
  17. clip — a video
  18. stand — to bear
  19. root — the cause
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. file — a document
  22. stock — goods
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. bowl — a football final

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