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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. root — the cause
  3. row — a line
  4. file — a line of people
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. file — a tool
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. stock — goods
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. root — of a word
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. last — final
  15. spring — the season
  16. file — a document
  17. root — of a plant
  18. scale — size or range
  19. spring — of water
  20. stock — shares
  21. dip — to sink
  22. row — to paddle
  23. scale — in music
  24. spring — a coil

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