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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: bat · leaves · pop · deal · content · spring · straw · stock

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pop — music
  5. spring — of water
  6. content — the amount
  7. stock — shares
  8. content — happy
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. deal — to handle
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. spring — a coil
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stock — goods
  19. pop — soda
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. spring — the season
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pop — to visit

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