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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. mine — for digging
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. wake — a trail
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stock — shares
  8. capital — a city
  9. roll — a cake
  10. spring — of water
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a list
  13. spring — the season
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. content — the amount
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. capital — money
  19. content — happy
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. spring — a coil
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. capital — a big letter
  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