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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ground — crushed
  4. spell — letters
  5. ground — a position
  6. drill — a practice
  7. spell — magic
  8. stock — shares
  9. rule — a law
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. drill — army training
  14. can — to be able to
  15. net — in sport
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. ground — the earth
  18. rule — government
  19. can — a tin
  20. net — for catching
  21. drill — the tool
  22. stock — goods
  23. spell — a short time
  24. can — a tin

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