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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. suit — in cards
  3. suit — to fit
  4. field — farmland
  5. stock — shares
  6. track — a path
  7. rush — hurry
  8. suit — clothes
  9. stock — goods
  10. content — the amount
  11. field — a subject
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. track — a song
  14. field — for sport
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. content — happy
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. spell — letters
  20. track — to keep track
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. spell — magic
  24. stock — a soup base

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