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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stock — goods
  4. prune — to trim
  5. content — the amount
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. content — happy
  9. stock — shares
  10. shower — rain
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bat — the animal
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. content — videos and posts

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