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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stock — shares
  3. net — after costs
  4. bound — certain
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bound — obliged
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bound — tied together
  12. rush — hurry
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. net — for catching
  15. hand — in cards
  16. stock — goods
  17. content — the amount
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. net — in sport
  23. content — happy
  24. hand — help

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