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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. stock — shares
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. field — a subject
  6. stock — goods
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. field — farmland
  9. sharp — clever
  10. firm — steady
  11. content — happy
  12. firm — a company
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. kid — child
  15. firm — decided
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. fork — in a road
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. field — for 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