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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. net — in sport
  3. last — finally
  4. spring — a coil
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. snap — to click
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. stock — shares
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. spring — of water
  12. cell — a phone
  13. spring — the season
  14. stock — goods
  15. cell — in biology
  16. net — after costs
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. net — for catching
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. last — final
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. lie — to recline

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