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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. mug — a face
  3. date — the fruit
  4. stock — goods
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. craft — boats
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mug — a cup
  9. ground — a position
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. craft — a skill
  12. face — part of the head
  13. rest — what's left
  14. content — happy
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — to point toward
  17. mug — to rob
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rest — what's left
  21. content — the amount
  22. rest — a break
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. stock — a soup base

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