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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. deal — to handle
  2. season — of the year
  3. stock — goods
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. row — a line
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. stock — shares
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. staff — a stick
  11. last — final
  12. board — to get on
  13. staff — employees
  14. content — happy
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. content — the amount
  18. staff — employees
  19. season — in sport
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. board — a committee
  23. row — to paddle
  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