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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spring — of water
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — to tease
  12. spring — a coil
  13. firm — decided
  14. firm — steady
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. root — the cause
  17. kid — child
  18. board — to get on
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. firm — a company
  22. board — a committee
  23. root — of a word
  24. spring — the season

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