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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 120 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. content — happy
  7. prune — to trim
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. prune — to trim
  11. snap — to click
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — the amount
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bat — the animal
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. stock — shares
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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