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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. cell — a phone
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. staff — a stick
  6. cell — in biology
  7. staff — employees
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. board — to get on
  13. stock — shares
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. field — farmland
  17. staff — employees
  18. kid — child
  19. board — a committee
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. stock — goods

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