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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. object — a thing
  3. face — to point toward
  4. object — to protest
  5. content — happy
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. land — a country
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chest — a box
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. stock — shares
  18. bulb — for light
  19. face — to confront
  20. stock — goods
  21. object — an aim
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bulb — for light
  24. land — to come down

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