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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 got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. root — of a word
  5. land — a country
  6. bore — to tire
  7. root — of a plant
  8. net — after costs
  9. bore — to drill
  10. root — the cause
  11. stock — shares
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. net — in sport
  15. court — of law
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. stock — goods
  21. mark — a trace
  22. net — for catching
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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