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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. track — a path
  3. capital — money
  4. last — to go on
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. current — happening now
  9. squash — the sport
  10. root — of a word
  11. last — final
  12. current — electric
  13. track — a song
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. squash — to crush
  16. current — of water
  17. stock — goods
  18. capital — a city
  19. track — to keep track
  20. root — of a plant
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. root — the cause
  23. last — finally
  24. stock — a soup base

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