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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 120 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. last — finally
  3. hand — help
  4. last — final
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. mark — a grade
  7. content — happy
  8. cue — a hint
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. last — to go on
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mark — a trace
  16. stock — shares
  17. cue — for pool
  18. hand — in cards
  19. content — the amount
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cue — a signal
  24. stock — goods

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