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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wound — an injury
  3. content — happy
  4. court — for sport
  5. stock — goods
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. court — of a king
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. wound — an injury
  21. prune — to trim
  22. row — a line
  23. court — of law
  24. mouse — the animal

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