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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. hand — help
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. sharp — clever
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stock — shares
  15. mine — for digging
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. content — happy
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. last — to go on
  21. roll — a cake
  22. content — the amount
  23. stock — goods
  24. roll — a list

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