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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. can — a tin
  3. content — happy
  4. field — a subject
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rest — a break
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. field — farmland
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stock — shares
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. content — the amount
  18. can — to be able to
  19. rest — what's left
  20. can — a tin
  21. date — the fruit
  22. rest — what's left
  23. stock — goods
  24. field — for sport

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