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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. squash — to crush
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mine — for digging
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. stock — shares
  7. squash — the sport
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. content — happy
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. scale — in music
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. stock — goods
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. scale — size or range
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. safe — out of danger

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