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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. firm — decided
  3. stock — shares
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. firm — steady
  6. wound — an injury
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. stock — goods
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. net — in sport
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. net — after costs
  18. last — final
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. lie — to recline
  22. firm — a company
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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