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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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cap — of ice
  3. mate — to breed
  4. hand — help
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. content — happy
  7. stock — goods
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — soda
  10. tear — to rip
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. stock — shares
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mate — a friend
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. content — the amount
  20. pop — music
  21. mate — a partner
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — a hat

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