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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 120 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: lean · pop · stock · shower · net · lie · last · bat

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pop — music
  3. bat — the animal
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. net — after costs
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. stock — goods
  14. net — for catching
  15. pop — soda
  16. last — to go on
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. net — in sport
  22. lean — to bend
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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