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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. stock — shares
  3. field — farmland
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — for light
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rule — government
  10. cold — an illness
  11. field — for sport
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. field — a subject
  18. rule — a law
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. ground — crushed
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. content — happy
  23. ground — a position
  24. stock — goods

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