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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. tube — the underground
  10. shower — rain
  11. squash — the sport
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. squash — to crush
  14. content — happy
  15. net — after costs
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. tube — a container
  18. wind — moving air
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. shower — to wash
  23. content — the amount
  24. wind — moving air

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