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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. kid — child
  3. rash — a series
  4. capital — money
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stock — goods
  10. net — after costs
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. capital — a city
  14. net — in sport
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. stock — shares
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. rash — hasty
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. net — for catching

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