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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. present — the time now
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. stock — shares
  7. file — a document
  8. can — a tin
  9. charge — a price
  10. can — to be able to
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — electricity
  13. stock — goods
  14. present — a gift
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. game — wild animals
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. game — a match
  19. present — there
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. can — a tin
  23. content — the amount
  24. game — a kind of play

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