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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. last — to go on
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rule — government
  6. content — the amount
  7. fine — all right
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stock — shares
  10. bark — to shout
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. content — happy
  13. date — the fruit
  14. last — finally
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. rule — a law
  17. fine — high quality
  18. last — final
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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