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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. roll — a cake
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. squash — the sport
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. march — the month
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. content — the amount
  12. hand — in cards
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. march — the month
  16. squash — to crush
  17. hand — help
  18. content — happy
  19. march — music
  20. roll — a list
  21. stock — goods
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wake — a trail

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