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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. date — the fruit
  4. fork — in a road
  5. ground — crushed
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stock — shares
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. toast — bread
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. content — happy
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. ground — a position
  19. content — the amount
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. stock — goods
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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