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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. track — to keep track
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. pop — music
  6. track — a song
  7. pop — to visit
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. root — of a word
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. kid — child
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — army training
  15. fine — all right
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — goods
  18. root — the cause
  19. fine — high quality
  20. pop — soda
  21. track — a path
  22. root — of a plant
  23. drill — the tool
  24. fine — a penalty

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