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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bat — the animal
  3. content — happy
  4. staff — employees
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. file — a tool
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. ball — a dance
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. file — a line of people
  15. ball — a great time
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. file — a document
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. staff — a stick
  22. stock — goods
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. staff — employees

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