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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 116 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. root — of a word
  3. spell — magic
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a song
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bound — certain
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rock — a stone
  11. root — the cause
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. root — of a plant
  14. capital — money
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. rock — music
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. capital — a city
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. spell — letters
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. perch — for a bird

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