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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. content — happy
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a list
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. roll — a cake
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. pop — music
  14. current — electric
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. current — of water
  17. content — the amount
  18. stock — goods
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. stock — shares
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. current — happening now
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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