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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. ball — a dance
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. root — of a word
  5. pop — to visit
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. root — the cause
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. track — a path
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. ball — a great time
  12. wind — moving air
  13. track — to keep track
  14. wind — moving air
  15. swing — in golf
  16. stock — goods
  17. track — a song
  18. swing — to play on
  19. pop — music
  20. stock — shares
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. swing — music
  24. root — of a plant

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