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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. kid — child
  8. key — for a lock
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. content — the amount
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. stock — shares
  14. key — the most important part
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. key — in music
  17. file — a tool
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stock — goods
  22. file — a document
  23. kid — to tease
  24. stock — a soup base

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