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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. swing — in golf
  8. stock — goods
  9. bore — to drill
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bore — to tire
  16. content — the amount
  17. swing — music
  18. pound — a weight
  19. swing — to play on
  20. content — happy
  21. stock — shares
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. safe — out of danger

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