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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. net — for catching
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bark — to shout
  8. present — a gift
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — of a plant
  12. present — the time now
  13. stock — shares
  14. present — there
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. wake — a trail
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. net — after costs
  22. root — the cause
  23. net — in sport
  24. bark — of a tree

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