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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pop · last · scale · cell · stock · present · row · lie

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cell — a phone
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. scale — in music
  6. stock — shares
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — soda
  9. lie — to recline
  10. last — finally
  11. stock — goods
  12. present — the time now
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cell — in biology
  15. present — there
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — a line
  20. present — a gift
  21. last — to go on
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. row — to paddle
  24. last — final

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