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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: root · bark · cold · track · stock · hand · hide · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. hand — help
  3. root — the cause
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stock — goods
  7. track — a path
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. root — of a word
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cold — not warm
  14. track — a song
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bark — to shout
  17. stock — shares
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cold — an illness
  21. root — of a plant
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. track — to keep track

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