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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. sharp — clever
  3. swing — in golf
  4. cap — a lid
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. firm — decided
  7. firm — a company
  8. content — happy
  9. stock — goods
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cap — a hat
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. firm — steady
  15. swing — music
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. content — the amount
  18. stock — shares
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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