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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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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 · swing · net · roll · stock · last · tube · pop

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pop — music
  3. net — after costs
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. swing — to play on
  8. tube — a container
  9. net — for catching
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. roll — a list
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. roll — a cake
  17. swing — in golf
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. net — in sport
  20. stock — shares
  21. swing — music
  22. last — finally
  23. lie — to recline
  24. stock — goods

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