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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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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. march — the month
  5. roll — a list
  6. deal — to handle
  7. root — the cause
  8. stock — goods
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. roll — a cake
  11. march — the month
  12. shower — to wash
  13. root — of a word
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. march — music
  17. bore — to tire
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. kid — child
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. root — of a plant
  22. shower — rain
  23. stock — shares
  24. bore — to drill

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