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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · tear · mark · kid · content · can · key · root

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. kid — child
  3. tear — from crying
  4. can — a tin
  5. court — of law
  6. tear — from crying
  7. key — for a lock
  8. can — to be able to
  9. court — of a king
  10. root — of a word
  11. mark — a grade
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. root — of a plant
  14. tear — to rip
  15. court — for sport
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. content — happy
  19. key — in music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. can — a tin
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. root — the cause
  24. mark — a trace

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