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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · stock · root · date · toast · craft · spring · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. root — the cause
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — a skill
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. spring — of water
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. date — the fruit
  10. spring — the season
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. content — happy
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stock — goods
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. race — the arms race
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. toast — bread
  20. content — the amount
  21. root — of a plant
  22. race — humankind
  23. stock — shares
  24. root — of a word

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