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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. stock — goods
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. stock — shares
  6. mug — a cup
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. content — the amount
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. mug — to rob
  11. race — the arms race
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. squash — the sport
  17. sharp — clever
  18. wound — an injury
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. wound — an injury

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