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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. swing — music
  3. content — the amount
  4. swing — in golf
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. hand — in cards
  7. swing — to play on
  8. stock — shares
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pit — a hole
  13. hand — help
  14. ball — a dance
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. snap — to click
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. sharp — clever
  20. stock — goods
  21. ball — a great time
  22. content — happy
  23. pit — in a race
  24. sharp — exactly

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