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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. content — the amount
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. current — electric
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stock — shares
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. current — happening now
  12. chest — a box
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stock — goods
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. spring — a coil
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. current — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. chest — of your body

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