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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. content — the amount
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wind — moving air
  5. degree — from a university
  6. rule — government
  7. content — happy
  8. can — a tin
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rule — a law
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. degree — an amount
  16. lean — thin
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. foot — a measure
  19. wind — moving air
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. can — a tin
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. stock — shares
  24. can — to be able to

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