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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. tube — the underground
  3. stock — shares
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. content — the amount
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bat — the animal
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. content — happy
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. tube — a container
  19. rule — a law
  20. clip — for paper
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stand — to bear
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rule — government

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