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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. bear — to put up with
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. content — happy
  4. game — wild animals
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stock — goods
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bank — for money
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bank — of a river
  16. snap — to click
  17. bear — the animal
  18. stock — shares
  19. bear — the animal
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. game — a match
  22. bank — for money
  23. sharp — exactly
  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