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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: content · coach · drill · chest · press · root · stock · bear

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  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. root — of a word
  3. chest — of your body
  4. drill — a practice
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. chest — a box
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. content — happy
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. press — to push
  12. drill — the tool
  13. stock — goods
  14. bear — the animal
  15. press — a publisher
  16. root — the cause
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. drill — army training
  19. content — the amount
  20. stock — shares
  21. chest — of your body
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bear — the animal
  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