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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  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. content — the amount
  3. object — a thing
  4. file — a document
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. file — a tool
  8. land — ground
  9. stock — shares
  10. file — a line of people
  11. object — to protest
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. land — a country
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. stock — goods
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. object — an aim
  20. land — to come down
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. calf — a young animal
  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