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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  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 — happy
  2. march — the month
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. stock — shares
  5. bore — to tire
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. key — for a lock
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. key — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. key — the most important part
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. scale — in music
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. content — the amount
  22. bore — to drill
  23. stock — a soup base
  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