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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 116 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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. track — a song
  3. track — to keep track
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. stock — goods
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. kick — in football
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. root — of a plant
  11. game — wild animals
  12. stock — shares
  13. game — a match
  14. track — a path
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — to get on
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. bat — the animal
  20. root — the cause
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. swing — in golf

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