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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wound — an injury
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. stock — goods
  8. wound — an injury
  9. content — happy
  10. kid — child
  11. drill — the tool
  12. suit — in cards
  13. stock — shares
  14. suit — to fit
  15. content — the amount
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pitch — completely
  18. suit — clothes
  19. drill — a practice
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. drill — army training
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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