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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: track · jam · content · kid · face · stock · rule · deal

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. stock — shares
  3. rule — government
  4. face — part of the head
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. face — to point toward
  8. track — a song
  9. face — to confront
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. rule — a law
  13. track — a path
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. content — happy
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. deal — to handle
  21. content — the amount
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stock — goods
  24. deal — a big deal

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