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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. shower — rain
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. band — a music group
  7. drill — army training
  8. content — happy
  9. stock — shares
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. drill — the tool
  13. band — a ring
  14. content — the amount
  15. lie — to recline
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. drill — a practice
  20. last — finally
  21. stock — goods
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. band — a rubber band

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