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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bore — to tire
  4. content — the amount
  5. swing — in golf
  6. bore — to drill
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bound — tied together
  9. stock — shares
  10. swing — music
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bound — obliged
  14. march — music
  15. cold — an illness
  16. march — the month
  17. bound — certain
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. march — the month
  20. stock — goods
  21. swing — to play on
  22. content — happy
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cold — not warm

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