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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 116 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 had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  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. face — part of the head
  2. object — an aim
  3. stock — shares
  4. content — happy
  5. object — a thing
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. object — to protest
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. press — to push
  15. press — newspapers
  16. content — the amount
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. face — to confront
  20. stock — goods
  21. face — to point toward
  22. press — a publisher
  23. game — a kind of play
  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