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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. club — for golf
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for dancing
  8. court — for sport
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. content — happy
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. foot — a measure
  15. court — of law
  16. content — the amount
  17. court — of a king
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stock — goods
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stock — shares
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. content — videos and posts

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