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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kick — in football
  7. bulb — for light
  8. fall — to drop
  9. content — the amount
  10. fall — the season
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. stock — goods
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pop — soda
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bulb — for light
  19. chest — a box
  20. pop — to visit
  21. stock — shares
  22. pop — music
  23. content — happy
  24. bulb — of a plant

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