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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. board — a committee
  5. content — happy
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. perch — the fish
  8. stock — shares
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. foot — a measure
  11. content — the amount
  12. stock — goods
  13. spell — letters
  14. snap — to click
  15. field — for sport
  16. spell — a short time
  17. field — a subject
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. field — farmland
  21. board — to get on
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. spell — magic

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