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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. stock — goods
  3. court — of a king
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. fork — in a road
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. file — a tool
  9. ground — a position
  10. root — the cause
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. ground — crushed
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. root — of a word
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of law
  19. file — a document
  20. capital — a city
  21. stock — shares
  22. ground — the earth
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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