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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. stock — shares
  6. charge — electricity
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. land — ground
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. charge — a price
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. mate — to breed
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. charge — in control
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. mate — a partner
  24. wax — to grow

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