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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. root — of a word
  3. file — a document
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. stock — goods
  7. clip — a video
  8. stock — shares
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. prune — to trim
  11. root — of a plant
  12. snap — to click
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — for paper
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. clip — to cut
  21. file — a tool
  22. root — the cause
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. file — a line of people

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