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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 120 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. stock — shares
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — the amount
  11. perch — the fish
  12. content — happy
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rash — a series
  20. bore — to tire
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bore — to drill
  23. sharp — clever
  24. rash — hasty

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