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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. stock — goods
  3. clip — a video
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cold — not warm
  6. roll — a cake
  7. stock — shares
  8. mate — a partner
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. mate — to breed
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. content — the amount
  13. roll — a list
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. cold — an illness
  18. content — happy
  19. cap — a hat
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. cap — a lid
  24. mate — a friend

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