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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. wind — moving air
  3. net — in sport
  4. bat — the animal
  5. toast — bread
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. stock — shares
  9. net — after costs
  10. suit — to fit
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. net — for catching
  18. suit — clothes
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. row — a line
  21. wind — moving air
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. wind — to turn a key

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