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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. stock — goods
  5. pound — a weight
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bulb — for light
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. stock — shares
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. fall — the season
  17. content — the amount
  18. field — for sport
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bulb — for light
  23. mate — a friend
  24. pound — to hit hard

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