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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stock — goods
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. squash — to crush
  13. content — the amount
  14. stock — shares
  15. land — to come down
  16. tear — to rip
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. squash — the sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. land — ground
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. land — a country
  23. march — the month
  24. content — happy

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