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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. content — the amount
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. last — final
  5. cold — not warm
  6. land — ground
  7. cold — an illness
  8. content — happy
  9. stock — goods
  10. land — to come down
  11. stock — shares
  12. last — finally
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — electric
  15. last — to go on
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. current — of water
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. land — a country

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