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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: content · mate · field · deal · spring · stock · can · firm

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. can — a tin
  3. content — the amount
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. mate — a partner
  7. spring — a coil
  8. field — a subject
  9. firm — a company
  10. stock — shares
  11. mate — to breed
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. firm — decided
  14. firm — steady
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. mate — a friend
  17. field — farmland
  18. stock — goods
  19. field — for sport
  20. spring — the season
  21. can — to be able to
  22. spring — of water
  23. can — a tin
  24. content — videos and posts

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