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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. hand — in cards
  3. kid — child
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. root — of a plant
  12. stock — goods
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mug — a face
  15. wound — an injury
  16. root — the cause
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mug — a cup
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kid — to tease
  21. hand — help
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. coach — a trainer

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