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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. content — the amount
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — shares
  5. spring — of water
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. wound — an injury
  12. spring — a coil
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. game — a match
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. drill — army training
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. game — wild animals
  22. spring — the season
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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