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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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 — to visit
  2. wound — an injury
  3. track — a song
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. pop — music
  6. stock — goods
  7. mark — a trace
  8. track — to keep track
  9. root — of a word
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wound — an injury
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. track — a path
  15. root — the cause
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pop — soda
  21. march — the month
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bat — the animal
  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