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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. toast — bread
  3. roll — a list
  4. root — of a plant
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. cold — not warm
  7. track — a path
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. tear — from crying
  11. saw — the tool
  12. stock — goods
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. saw — the tool
  15. roll — a cake
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. root — the cause
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. root — of a word
  21. stock — shares
  22. cold — an illness
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. track — a song

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