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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. fall — the season
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. suit — to fit
  5. stock — goods
  6. kid — to tease
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. suit — clothes
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stock — shares
  13. bore — to tire
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. fall — to drop
  17. game — a match
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bore — to drill
  23. game — wild animals
  24. suit — in cards

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