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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. date — the fruit
  3. dip — to sink
  4. current — happening now
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. mate — a friend
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. stock — shares
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mate — to breed
  12. current — of water
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. content — happy
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. mate — a partner
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. content — the amount
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cold — an illness
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. current — electric

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