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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. content — happy
  3. plane — a tool
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. content — the amount
  6. clip — for paper
  7. face — to point toward
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. clip — to cut
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. stock — goods
  13. face — part of the head
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. clip — a video
  16. dip — to sink
  17. bound — tied together
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. snap — to click
  20. face — to confront
  21. bound — certain
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bound — obliged
  24. stock — a soup base

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