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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. court — of a king
  3. stock — goods
  4. court — of law
  5. sharp — clever
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. root — the cause
  10. rule — government
  11. court — for sport
  12. stock — shares
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. rule — a law
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. root — of a plant
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. root — of a word

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