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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 120 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. lie — to recline
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stock — shares
  6. spring — a coil
  7. track — a song
  8. object — to protest
  9. rest — what's left
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. object — a thing
  12. rest — a break
  13. shower — to wash
  14. spring — of water
  15. object — an aim
  16. rest — what's left
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. content — happy
  19. track — a path
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. content — the amount
  22. spring — the season
  23. shower — rain
  24. track — to keep track

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