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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. content — the amount
  3. saw — the tool
  4. band — a music group
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. band — a ring
  9. stock — goods
  10. scale — in music
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. chip — for betting
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. perch — the fish
  18. stock — shares
  19. chip — to eat
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. band — a rubber band

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