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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. game — wild animals
  4. staff — employees
  5. fine — all right
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. game — a match
  8. net — in sport
  9. staff — a stick
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fine — high quality
  12. staff — employees
  13. net — after costs
  14. season — in sport
  15. last — final
  16. season — of the year
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. stock — shares
  19. last — finally
  20. wake — a trail
  21. stock — goods
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. last — to go on

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