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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. degree — from a university
  3. march — the month
  4. content — happy
  5. stock — goods
  6. kid — child
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cell — in biology
  10. content — the amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. firm — a company
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. stock — shares
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. kid — to tease
  20. firm — steady
  21. cell — a phone
  22. march — music
  23. firm — decided
  24. cabinet — ministers

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