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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. content — the amount
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. drill — a practice
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. drill — army training
  10. can — to be able to
  11. drill — the tool
  12. present — there
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. lean — thin
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — a tin
  20. lean — to bend
  21. snap — to click
  22. fork — in a road
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — the time now

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