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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 116 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  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. stock — goods
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. stock — shares
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — happy
  6. scale — size or range
  7. staff — a stick
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. staff — employees
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. scale — in music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. saw — the tool
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. staff — employees
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. content — the amount
  23. rock — music
  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