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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. last — to go on
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. last — final
  8. row — a line
  9. last — finally
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. mark — a grade
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. stand — to bear
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a trace
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. row — to paddle

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