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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. land — ground
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. wind — moving air
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. last — finally
  13. land — a country
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. land — to come down
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. last — final
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. branch — a division
  22. last — to go on
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. wind — moving air

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