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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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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. last — final
  3. net — after costs
  4. last — finally
  5. press — newspapers
  6. stock — goods
  7. row — to paddle
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bat — the animal
  10. fork — in a road
  11. row — a line
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. last — to go on
  15. stock — shares
  16. press — to push
  17. press — a publisher
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. net — in sport
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fine — all right
  24. row — a quarrel

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