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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rule — a law
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. content — the amount
  16. hand — help
  17. stock — goods
  18. kid — child
  19. rule — government
  20. lean — thin
  21. tube — a container
  22. kid — to tease
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. lean — to rest against

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