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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. content — happy
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. field — farmland
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. lean — thin
  13. chip — to eat
  14. field — for sport
  15. stock — shares
  16. chip — for betting
  17. field — a subject
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. content — the amount
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. lean — to bend
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. kick — in football

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