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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. root — of a word
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. root — of a plant
  6. spring — the season
  7. scale — size or range
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. cell — a phone
  10. club — a group
  11. stock — goods
  12. scale — in music
  13. stock — shares
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. cell — in biology
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. club — for dancing
  18. root — the cause
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — a coil
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. club — for golf
  24. cell — in a prison

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