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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. current — of water
  4. snap — to click
  5. season — in sport
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — a weight
  10. stock — shares
  11. content — happy
  12. current — electric
  13. content — the amount
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. stock — goods
  16. season — of the year
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. current — happening now

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