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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: root · cold · date · jam · stock · firm · cell · bat

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. stock — shares
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. root — the cause
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. firm — steady
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stock — goods
  15. bat — the animal
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. firm — a company
  19. firm — decided
  20. root — of a word
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. root — of a plant
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. stock — a soup base

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