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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. last — final
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. deal — to handle
  7. net — for catching
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. net — after costs
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stock — goods
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. last — finally
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. row — to paddle
  17. clip — a video
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. lie — to recline
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — shares
  23. clip — to cut
  24. last — to go on

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