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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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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: stock · cold · root · swing · dip · cap · land · kid

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. swing — music
  3. land — to come down
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. root — of a plant
  7. cap — a hat
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. land — ground
  10. stock — shares
  11. root — of a word
  12. dip — to sink
  13. land — a country
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cap — of ice
  21. root — the cause
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. cold — an illness

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