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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fine — all right
  3. stock — goods
  4. chip — to eat
  5. march — the month
  6. ground — the earth
  7. fine — high quality
  8. march — the month
  9. ground — crushed
  10. track — a song
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. content — the amount
  13. march — music
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. ground — a position
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a path
  21. stock — shares
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a leader

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