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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. stock — goods
  3. spring — the season
  4. content — happy
  5. cap — a lid
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. current — happening now
  8. tube — the underground
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spring — a coil
  11. content — the amount
  12. current — electric
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stock — shares
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rest — a break
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. current — of water
  21. spring — of water
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cap — of ice
  24. tube — a container

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