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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. net — for catching
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stock — shares
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. stock — goods
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a great time
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. net — in sport
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cold — an illness
  16. content — happy
  17. press — a publisher
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. press — to push
  20. net — after costs
  21. press — newspapers
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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