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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. shower — rain
  4. pop — music
  5. bank — for money
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bank — for money
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — to eat
  13. bank — of a river
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — soda
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. stock — goods

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