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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. lean — thin
  4. content — happy
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. content — the amount
  10. bank — for money
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bank — of a river
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bank — for money
  19. lean — to bend
  20. stock — goods
  21. sharp — clever
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. lean — to rest against

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