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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pit — in a race
  5. content — happy
  6. mate — a friend
  7. rock — music
  8. stock — goods
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. stock — shares
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bound — certain
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pit — a hole
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. content — the amount
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — obliged
  24. wind — moving air

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