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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. firm — steady
  3. root — the cause
  4. mine — for digging
  5. firm — a company
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cap — of ice
  9. kid — child
  10. root — of a plant
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. kid — to tease
  13. firm — decided
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cap — a lid
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stock — goods
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cap — a hat
  21. root — of a word
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — a soup base

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