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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bank — for money
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. field — a subject
  6. content — the amount
  7. bank — of a river
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — clever
  11. content — happy
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. row — a line
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. row — to paddle
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. field — for sport
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. field — farmland
  24. mine — for digging

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