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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 116 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: sharp · stock · rock · content · march · wound · court · cap

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. march — the month
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. march — music
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. sharp — clever
  11. march — the month
  12. court — for sport
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cap — a hat
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. court — of law
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stock — shares
  20. content — the amount
  21. rock — music
  22. stock — goods
  23. court — of a king
  24. wound — an injury

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