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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 120 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. track — a song
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. rush — hurry
  6. stock — shares
  7. game — wild animals
  8. foot — a measure
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. content — the amount
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. track — to keep track
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. content — happy
  22. stock — goods
  23. game — a match
  24. rash — a series

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