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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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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: content · stock · root · bound · kid · tear · ground · mate

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. root — of a word
  3. tear — to rip
  4. content — the amount
  5. bound — tied together
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ground — crushed
  8. stock — goods
  9. kid — child
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ground — a position
  12. root — the cause
  13. stock — shares
  14. mate — a partner
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. ground — the earth
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bound — certain
  19. content — happy
  20. kid — to tease
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mate — to breed
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bound — obliged

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