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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. swing — music
  3. land — ground
  4. bound — certain
  5. track — a song
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stock — goods
  9. content — happy
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bound — obliged
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — hasty
  14. land — to come down
  15. stock — shares
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a path
  18. content — the amount
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. land — a country
  22. swing — to play on
  23. bound — tied together
  24. nail — for a hammer

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