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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. stock — shares
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. file — a tool
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. board — a committee
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. tear — from crying
  13. stock — goods
  14. pit — in a race
  15. board — to get on
  16. file — a line of people
  17. net — after costs
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stem — to come from
  20. lie — to recline
  21. file — a document
  22. tear — to rip
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. pit — a hole

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