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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: bound · straw · stock · coach · mate · lie · spell · file

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bound — certain
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. file — a line of people
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. mate — a partner
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. spell — a short time
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. stock — goods
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — obliged
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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