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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. root — of a plant
  3. race — the arms race
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spring — the season
  7. stock — shares
  8. root — the cause
  9. spring — a coil
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. stock — goods
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. root — of a word
  21. clip — a video
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. clip — for paper
  24. nail — for a hammer

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