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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 116 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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. current — happening now
  3. scale — in music
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. content — the amount
  7. squash — the sport
  8. spring — a coil
  9. current — electric
  10. spring — the season
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. spring — of water
  14. dip — to sink
  15. fall — the season
  16. scale — size or range
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. current — of water
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. content — happy
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. stock — goods

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