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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: suit · wake · field · tear · mug · stock · key · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stock — goods
  4. wake — a trail
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. key — in music
  7. mug — a face
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. content — the amount
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. key — for a lock
  12. stock — shares
  13. suit — to fit
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — for sport
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. suit — clothes
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mug — to rob
  20. field — a subject
  21. mug — a cup
  22. suit — in cards
  23. key — the most important part
  24. tear — from crying

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