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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. cell — a phone
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bound — obliged
  6. prune — to trim
  7. board — to get on
  8. bound — certain
  9. kid — child
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. root — the cause
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. bound — tied together
  14. board — a committee
  15. prune — to trim
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. stock — goods
  19. cell — in biology
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. root — of a word
  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