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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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stock — shares
  4. present — a gift
  5. content — the amount
  6. current — electric
  7. content — happy
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. current — of water
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. stock — goods
  14. present — the time now
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. tear — to rip
  20. rash — a series
  21. present — there
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. current — happening now
  24. tear — from crying

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