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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pound — a weight
  3. spring — the season
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. mate — a partner
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. mate — to breed
  12. spring — of water
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — shares
  16. content — the amount
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. content — happy
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cabinet — ministers

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