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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. cap — a hat
  4. track — to keep track
  5. land — a country
  6. cap — of ice
  7. content — happy
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. land — to come down
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. content — the amount
  17. land — ground
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cell — a phone
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cell — in biology
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cold — not warm

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