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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 116 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kid — child
  3. can — to be able to
  4. root — of a word
  5. fall — to drop
  6. court — of law
  7. fall — the season
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. craft — boats
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. root — the cause
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. stock — goods
  14. can — a tin
  15. court — of a king
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — government
  18. stock — shares
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fall — to drop
  21. can — a tin
  22. root — of a plant
  23. craft — a skill
  24. craft — a handicraft

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