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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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. cap — a hat
  2. roll — a cake
  3. cap — of ice
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. root — the cause
  7. stock — goods
  8. file — a tool
  9. content — happy
  10. stock — shares
  11. court — of law
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. suit — to fit
  15. court — for sport
  16. cap — a lid
  17. court — of a king
  18. file — a document
  19. roll — a list
  20. suit — in cards
  21. content — the amount
  22. suit — clothes
  23. root — of a word
  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