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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pop — to visit
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. row — to paddle
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pop — music
  13. row — a line
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — all right
  17. stock — goods
  18. mark — a grade
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. stock — shares
  23. pop — soda
  24. cold — not warm

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