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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. staff — employees
  6. last — finally
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stock — shares
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. staff — a stick
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spring — the season
  15. rock — a stone
  16. stock — goods
  17. foot — a measure
  18. wound — an injury
  19. staff — employees
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. spring — of water
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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