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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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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 · rock · content · mine · snap · pound · stock · bear

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. rock — a stone
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. content — happy
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rock — music
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bat — the animal
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. content — the amount
  21. bear — the animal
  22. snap — to click
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bat — for baseball

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