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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mark · root · cold · stock · march · pitcher · kick · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. march — music
  3. root — of a plant
  4. mark — a trace
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. stock — shares
  8. kick — in football
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mark — a grade
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. content — happy
  15. stock — goods
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — the cause
  18. march — the month
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cold — not warm
  22. march — the month
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stock — a soup base

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