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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. drill — army training
  5. file — a document
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mark — a trace
  11. pitch — completely
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stock — goods
  14. root — the cause
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. stock — shares
  18. root — of a word
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. root — of a plant
  21. file — a tool
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. drill — a practice
  24. file — a line of people

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