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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. spell — a short time
  3. bass — the fish
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. march — music
  6. content — happy
  7. stock — shares
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. hand — in cards
  10. spell — letters
  11. bass — low music
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. content — the amount
  14. hand — help
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stock — goods
  19. spell — magic
  20. pound — a weight
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. temple — a place of worship

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