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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. mine — for digging
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. cap — a lid
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stock — goods
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cell — in biology
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cell — a phone
  14. ball — a great time
  15. content — happy
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cap — a hat
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. content — the amount
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. cap — of ice

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