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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: season · root · bat · stock · leaves · band · row · saw

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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. stock — a soup base
  2. band — a ring
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. row — a line
  5. row — to paddle
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. season — of the year
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. saw — the tool
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. root — the cause
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. band — a music group
  16. season — in sport
  17. root — of a plant
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — shares
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. root — of a word
  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