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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. rash — a series
  3. kid — to tease
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. stock — shares
  9. rash — hasty
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. stock — goods
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. object — an aim
  15. chest — a box
  16. deal — to handle
  17. kid — child
  18. content — happy
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. object — a thing
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — the amount
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. lie — to recline

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