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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. row — to paddle
  4. hand — in cards
  5. root — of a plant
  6. stock — shares
  7. root — of a word
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stock — goods
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. shower — to wash
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. row — a line
  14. perch — the fish
  15. band — a ring
  16. root — the cause
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. band — a music group
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. hand — help
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — to eat
  23. shower — rain
  24. row — a quarrel

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