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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. chest — of your body
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cell — in biology
  7. chest — a box
  8. cap — of ice
  9. band — a ring
  10. mate — a friend
  11. toast — bread
  12. band — a music group
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stock — goods
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. cap — a lid
  18. mate — a partner
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cap — a hat
  22. content — happy
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. mate — to breed

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