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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 do you think of the new ________________?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. band — a music group
  4. content — the amount
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. content — happy
  7. stock — shares
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. snap — to click
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. race — humankind
  13. suit — in cards
  14. suit — to fit
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. stock — goods
  17. band — a ring
  18. race — a contest
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. suit — clothes
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. race — the arms race

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