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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 116 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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. scale — in music
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bass — the fish
  9. scale — size or range
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rush — hurry
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bass — low music
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — happy
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — to sink
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — a friend
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. stock — shares
  24. pitcher — a jug

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