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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · drill · staff · chest · face · track · row · stock

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. face — to confront
  3. drill — army training
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. chest — of your body
  6. track — to keep track
  7. stock — goods
  8. chest — a box
  9. stock — shares
  10. face — part of the head
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. face — to point toward
  14. staff — a stick
  15. drill — a practice
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. deal — to handle
  18. drill — the tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. track — a path

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