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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 116 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. content — the amount
  3. bound — obliged
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. ground — crushed
  7. stock — goods
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. spring — the season
  10. lean — to bend
  11. spring — of water
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bound — certain
  14. content — happy
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bound — tied together
  19. ground — the earth
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stock — shares
  22. prune — to trim
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. ground — a position

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