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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stock — goods
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. content — the amount
  6. rest — what's left
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. club — a group
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. club — for dancing
  20. rest — a break
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stock — shares
  23. club — for golf
  24. bat — the animal

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