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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stock — goods
  4. chest — a box
  5. prune — to trim
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chest — of your body
  9. track — a path
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. content — the amount
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bound — certain
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bound — tied together
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bound — obliged
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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