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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. mug — a cup
  4. craft — a skill
  5. can — a tin
  6. mug — a face
  7. content — the amount
  8. roll — a cake
  9. stock — goods
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. mug — to rob
  13. bat — the animal
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. craft — boats
  22. can — a tin
  23. roll — a list
  24. can — to be able to

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