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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cue — for pool
  3. root — of a plant
  4. wind — moving air
  5. court — for sport
  6. root — of a word
  7. root — the cause
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wind — moving air
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cue — a signal
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. stock — shares
  19. cue — a hint
  20. clip — a video
  21. roll — a list
  22. stock — goods
  23. roll — a cake
  24. mine — for digging

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