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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — a weight
  6. last — finally
  7. stock — goods
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. chest — a box
  14. content — happy
  15. stock — shares
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cell — in biology
  18. last — final
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wake — a trail
  21. last — to go on
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chest — of your body
  24. content — the amount

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