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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 120 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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. spring — the season
  9. firm — decided
  10. content — the amount
  11. kid — child
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. kid — to tease
  14. spring — a coil
  15. season — of the year
  16. stock — shares
  17. firm — steady
  18. content — happy
  19. cold — not warm
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. spring — of water
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. firm — a company
  24. season — in sport

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