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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: cold · court · bat · board · bear · wave · root · stock

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bear — the animal
  6. root — of a plant
  7. board — a committee
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. court — of law
  10. board — to get on
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. root — the cause
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stock — shares
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stock — goods
  22. bat — the animal
  23. root — of a word
  24. wave — of the sea

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