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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: clip · content · bear · deal · cold · bay · nail · stock

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bear — the animal
  6. stock — goods
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. cold — an illness
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stock — shares
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. content — the amount
  17. cold — not warm
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. deal — to handle
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. nail — for a hammer

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