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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. content — the amount
  3. foot — a measure
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. saw — the tool
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. object — a thing
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. content — happy
  15. degree — temperature
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cell — a phone
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. lash — an eyelash

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