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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bear — the animal
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. last — finally
  6. file — a tool
  7. board — a committee
  8. stock — shares
  9. board — to get on
  10. lie — to recline
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. file — a document
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. net — after costs
  17. stock — goods
  18. net — for catching
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. last — to go on
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. net — in sport
  24. file — a line of people

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