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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. stock — goods
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. saw — the tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. ball — a dance
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wound — an injury
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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