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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. spring — a coil
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. stock — shares
  9. branch — a division
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. stock — goods
  12. wind — moving air
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. spring — of water
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. spring — the season
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wind — moving air
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. fan — a supporter

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