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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: charge · cell · stock · stick · bowl · lie · net · field

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. cell — a phone
  4. stock — goods
  5. charge — in control
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. cell — in biology
  12. lie — to recline
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. charge — a price
  15. net — in sport
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. field — for sport
  20. charge — electricity
  21. stock — shares
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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