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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. last — final
  3. roll — a cake
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. last — finally
  7. suit — to fit
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. stock — goods
  11. bat — the animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. stock — shares
  19. tear — from crying
  20. suit — in cards
  21. suit — clothes
  22. roll — a list
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. tear — to rip

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