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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pound — a weight
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. present — the time now
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stock — shares
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. deal — to handle
  18. content — the amount
  19. present — there
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. content — happy

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