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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. stock — goods
  3. net — after costs
  4. stock — shares
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. last — finally
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. net — for catching
  11. rash — hasty
  12. net — in sport
  13. last — final
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. ball — a great time
  17. last — to go on
  18. stock — a soup base

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