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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. scale — size or range
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. saw — the tool
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. content — happy
  8. mate — to breed
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wake — a trail
  11. mate — a partner
  12. chip — for betting
  13. mate — a friend
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stock — shares
  17. chip — to eat
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. saw — the tool
  20. scale — in music
  21. stock — goods
  22. content — the amount
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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