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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. content — the amount
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lie — to recline
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — the cause
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. root — of a plant
  15. stock — goods
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cold — an illness
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. content — happy
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. fork — in a road
  24. cold — the Cold War

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