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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. present — there
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. stock — shares
  5. suit — to fit
  6. content — happy
  7. court — for sport
  8. suit — in cards
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. court — of a king
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. present — the time now
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. court — of law
  17. stock — goods
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. content — the amount
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. present — a gift
  24. suit — clothes

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