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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 112 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. charge — a price
  3. stock — goods
  4. bat — the animal
  5. march — the month
  6. fall — the season
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. charge — in control
  13. march — the month
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. charge — electricity
  18. march — music

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