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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. content — happy
  3. cap — a hat
  4. suit — clothes
  5. cap — a lid
  6. stock — shares
  7. content — the amount
  8. file — a document
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. file — a tool
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. land — ground
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. suit — to fit
  18. land — to come down
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — in a road
  21. land — a country
  22. cap — of ice
  23. suit — in cards
  24. file — a line of people

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