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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. squash — the sport
  4. stock — shares
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. content — the amount
  10. scale — size or range
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. scale — in music
  15. pass — a permit
  16. perch — the fish
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. squash — to crush
  22. stock — goods
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. safe — a strongbox

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