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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wind · pitcher · root · face · cabinet · tear · stock · net

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. root — the cause
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. root — of a plant
  6. net — after costs
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. net — for catching
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. stock — goods
  14. tear — from crying
  15. face — to confront
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. net — in sport
  18. stock — shares
  19. root — of a word
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. cabinet — ministers

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