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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rush — hurry
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. stock — goods
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. track — to keep track
  8. content — happy
  9. stock — shares
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. row — to paddle
  13. track — a song
  14. mark — a grade
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. track — a path
  19. content — the amount
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. cell — in biology
  22. row — a line
  23. mark — a trace
  24. content — videos and posts

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