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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bass — the fish
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stock — shares
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bulb — for light
  9. net — in sport
  10. content — happy
  11. net — after costs
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. net — for catching
  16. content — the amount
  17. bass — low music
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. ball — a round shape

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