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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  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. ball — a dance
  2. stock — shares
  3. mate — to breed
  4. content — the amount
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. foot — a measure
  9. content — happy
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — a friend
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. stock — goods
  14. field — farmland
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. trunk — of a tree
  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