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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stock — shares
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. race — humankind
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — in control
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pitch — completely
  12. stock — goods
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. race — a contest
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. mate — to breed
  17. charge — a price
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mate — a friend
  21. content — the amount
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. mate — a partner

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