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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. season — in sport
  3. mine — for digging
  4. march — music
  5. stock — goods
  6. content — the amount
  7. mug — a face
  8. mate — a partner
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. march — the month
  11. rash — hasty
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mug — a cup
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. stock — shares
  16. season — of the year
  17. mate — a friend
  18. march — the month
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. mug — to rob
  21. rash — a series
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mate — to breed
  24. stock — a soup base

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