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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. shower — to wash
  3. last — final
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. net — in sport
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. stock — goods
  9. net — after costs
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. pop — to visit
  12. net — for catching
  13. pop — music
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. present — the time now
  18. lie — to recline
  19. present — a gift
  20. last — to go on
  21. present — there
  22. pop — soda
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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