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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. rule — government
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stock — goods
  7. suit — in cards
  8. suit — clothes
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. stock — shares
  12. row — a line
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. row — to paddle
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. last — final
  17. rule — a law
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. fork — in a road
  23. suit — to fit
  24. content — the amount

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