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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 124 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rule — government
  4. content — happy
  5. rule — a law
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. content — the amount
  12. stock — goods
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. kid — to tease
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. kid — child
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. stock — shares

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