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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lie · stock · court · net · cold · file · calf · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. net — for catching
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. stock — goods
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. stock — shares
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. court — of law
  11. file — a document
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. file — a tool
  19. cold — not warm
  20. net — in sport
  21. court — for sport
  22. file — a line of people
  23. court — of a king
  24. net — after costs

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