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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.

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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fall — the season
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. fall — to drop
  7. band — a music group
  8. object — to protest
  9. band — a ring
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. fall — to drop
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. object — an aim
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. hand — in cards
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stock — goods
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. object — a thing
  23. stock — shares
  24. kick — in football

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