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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 116 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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. net — for catching
  4. stock — shares
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stock — goods
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. fine — all right
  14. drill — army training
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. board — to get on
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — after costs
  20. shower — to wash
  21. drill — a practice
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. fine — high quality

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