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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 116 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. scale — in music
  3. rest — a break
  4. content — the amount
  5. club — for dancing
  6. lean — to bend
  7. can — a tin
  8. stock — goods
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rest — what's left
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. rest — what's left
  14. can — a tin
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. club — for golf
  17. scale — size or range
  18. club — a group
  19. can — to be able to
  20. stock — shares
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. lean — thin

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