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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 120 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stock — goods
  7. track — a song
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. track — a path
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. key — the most important part
  15. bore — to drill
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — in music
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. stock — shares
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bore — to tire
  24. cold — not warm

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