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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 116 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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. charge — electricity
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — for money
  7. charge — in control
  8. stock — goods
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. content — happy
  11. pitch — completely
  12. content — the amount
  13. rest — what's left
  14. net — after costs
  15. rest — what's left
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. bank — of a river
  22. charge — a price
  23. rest — a break
  24. content — videos and posts

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