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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. lie — to recline
  4. last — to go on
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. current — electric
  7. season — in sport
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. track — to keep track
  10. stock — goods
  11. current — of water
  12. roll — a cake
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. roll — a list
  15. track — a path
  16. season — of the year
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. current — happening now
  19. track — a song
  20. last — finally
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. last — final
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pitch — completely

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