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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 116 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
468
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: mine · cue · bat · rash · stock · wind · content · lie

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wind — moving air
  5. content — the amount
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. stock — goods
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cue — a signal
  13. rash — hasty
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. cue — for pool
  16. rash — a series
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wind — moving air
  19. content — happy
  20. stock — shares
  21. lie — to recline
  22. cue — a hint
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. content — videos and posts

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