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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stem — to come from
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. stock — shares
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. root — of a plant
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bound — obliged
  11. root — of a word
  12. stock — goods
  13. bound — certain
  14. root — the cause
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mine — for digging
  18. deal — to handle
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bound — tied together
  23. mate — a partner
  24. deal — an agreement

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