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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stock — shares
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. wind — moving air

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