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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. drill — army training
  3. stock — goods
  4. content — happy
  5. track — a song
  6. mate — a friend
  7. track — to keep track
  8. mate — to breed
  9. stock — shares
  10. spring — the season
  11. content — the amount
  12. spring — of water
  13. game — a match
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. track — a path
  16. mate — a partner
  17. drill — a practice
  18. spring — a coil
  19. game — wild animals
  20. firm — steady
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. firm — a company
  23. drill — the tool
  24. firm — decided

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