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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. sharp — clever
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. march — the month
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. fall — the season
  9. march — the month
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mine — for digging
  13. track — to keep track
  14. march — music
  15. track — a song
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. track — a path

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