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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: foot · court · cold · stock · ruler · pop · wave · content

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. foot — a measure
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. cold — an illness
  7. court — of law
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. pop — soda
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. stock — goods
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. cold — not warm
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. stock — shares
  17. pop — to visit
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. content — the amount
  21. court — for sport
  22. content — happy
  23. pop — music
  24. court — of a king

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