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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. net — for catching
  4. file — a tool
  5. net — after costs
  6. roll — a list
  7. lie — to recline
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. ground — a position
  10. file — a document
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. stock — goods
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. ground — crushed
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. net — in sport
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. ground — the earth
  23. roll — a cake
  24. file — a line of people

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