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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — of a river
  6. court — for sport
  7. bear — the animal
  8. stock — shares
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. court — of law
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bank — for money
  14. content — the amount
  15. swing — to play on
  16. content — happy
  17. drill — the tool
  18. court — of a king
  19. swing — in golf
  20. stock — goods
  21. swing — music
  22. bear — the animal
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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