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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. content — happy
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a path
  7. land — a country
  8. march — the month
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. march — the month
  11. kid — to tease
  12. march — music
  13. track — a song
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kick — in football
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — goods
  20. kid — child
  21. content — the amount
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. land — to come down

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