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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. swing — in golf
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. game — a match
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. swing — music
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. game — wild animals
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stock — shares
  17. swing — to play on
  18. stock — goods
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wake — a trail
  21. perch — the fish
  22. content — the amount
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. straw — a straw man

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