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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 120 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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stock — goods
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. band — a ring
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mark — a grade
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. band — a music group
  24. wind — moving air

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