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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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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. object — to protest
  3. stock — shares
  4. content — the amount
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fine — all right
  9. object — an aim
  10. season — in sport
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — goods
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. season — of the year
  15. drill — the tool
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. drill — a practice
  18. content — happy
  19. saw — the tool
  20. fine — high quality
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. object — a thing
  23. drill — army training
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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