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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. lean — to bend
  4. content — happy
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — thin
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — a short time
  11. content — the amount
  12. spell — letters
  13. stock — shares
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. rule — government
  17. game — wild animals
  18. tube — the underground
  19. game — a match
  20. tube — a container
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. rule — a law
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. ruler — a monarch

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