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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. stock — goods
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. firm — decided
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. stem — to come from
  9. rock — a stone
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rock — music
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. court — of law
  15. content — the amount
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. firm — steady
  18. firm — a company
  19. court — for sport
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. court — of a king
  22. date — the fruit
  23. rock — to move gently
  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