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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've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. toast — bread
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stock — goods
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cold — an illness
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. content — the amount
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pound — a weight
  20. net — for catching
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. stock — shares

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