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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. drill — army training
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — a face
  6. craft — boats
  7. present — a gift
  8. content — the amount
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. staff — a stick
  11. stock — goods
  12. mine — for digging
  13. drill — the tool
  14. staff — employees
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mug — to rob
  18. present — there
  19. stock — shares
  20. drill — a practice
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. craft — a skill
  23. present — the time now
  24. staff — employees

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