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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: coach · roll · wound · march · root · chest · current · stock

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. root — of a plant
  3. chest — of your body
  4. root — of a word
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chest — of your body
  8. march — the month
  9. chest — a box
  10. wound — an injury
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. root — the cause
  14. current — happening now
  15. roll — a list
  16. stock — goods
  17. roll — a cake
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. current — of water
  21. stock — shares
  22. march — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. current — electric

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