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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. root — of a plant
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. court — for sport
  9. pound — a weight
  10. court — of a king
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. root — the cause
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. root — of a word
  22. stock — goods
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. court — of law

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