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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. hand — in cards
  4. content — happy
  5. wound — an injury
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. hand — help
  10. march — the month
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. row — a line
  14. content — the amount
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. march — music
  21. row — to paddle
  22. march — the month
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. prune — to trim

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