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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fork — in a road
  5. stock — shares
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. lean — thin
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — in music
  14. firm — decided
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — steady
  17. content — happy
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — an illness
  20. content — the amount
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. stock — goods
  24. fork — to eat with

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