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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. ground — crushed
  5. chip — to eat
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chip — for betting
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. lean — thin
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. ground — a position
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. tear — from crying
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. row — a line
  16. lean — to bend
  17. stock — shares
  18. ground — the earth
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. content — happy
  21. tear — to rip
  22. content — the amount
  23. stock — goods
  24. row — to paddle

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