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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stock — goods
  4. club — for dancing
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. hand — help
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stock — shares
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. chest — a box
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. content — happy
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. content — the amount
  21. cold — an illness
  22. club — for golf
  23. chest — of your body
  24. club — a group

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