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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. net — after costs
  3. scale — in music
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — obliged
  7. net — in sport
  8. row — to paddle
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. stock — goods
  11. saw — the tool
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. net — for catching
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bound — certain
  19. row — a line
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. scale — size or range
  23. last — to go on
  24. saw — the tool

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