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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. net — for catching
  3. content — the amount
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mate — to breed
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stock — goods
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — in sport
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. rule — government
  15. content — happy
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bat — the animal
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stock — shares
  24. mate — a friend

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