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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've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pop — soda
  3. row — a line
  4. kid — to tease
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stock — goods
  7. track — a path
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. capital — a city
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. rule — a law
  12. pop — music
  13. rule — government
  14. track — to keep track
  15. capital — money
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pop — to visit
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. track — a song
  21. stock — shares
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. kid — child
  24. capital — a big letter

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