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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. land — a country
  4. object — to protest
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. spell — letters
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. content — the amount
  12. object — a thing
  13. spell — magic
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. deal — to handle
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. land — to come down
  18. stock — goods
  19. dip — to sink
  20. object — an aim
  21. land — ground
  22. spell — a short time
  23. row — a line
  24. content — happy

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