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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 120 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stock — shares
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. stock — goods
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. sharp — clever
  9. degree — temperature
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. track — a path
  15. hand — help
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. wake — a trail
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. hand — in cards
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. track — to keep track
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. track — a song
  24. drill — a practice

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