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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. land — to come down
  6. stock — shares
  7. lie — to recline
  8. capital — money
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. court — of a king
  11. stand — to bear
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. prune — to trim
  14. court — of law
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. land — a country
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. court — for sport
  21. content — the amount
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — goods
  24. prune — to trim

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