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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 120 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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. dip — to sink
  3. court — of law
  4. drill — the tool
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. court — for sport
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cap — a hat
  10. court — of a king
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. can — to be able to
  14. cap — of ice
  15. drill — a practice
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. drill — army training
  18. cap — a lid
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. stock — goods

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