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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. object — to protest
  3. stock — goods
  4. wind — moving air
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. tear — from crying
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. tear — from crying
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. object — an aim
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stock — shares
  16. tear — to rip
  17. fall — the season
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. deal — to handle
  20. object — a thing
  21. game — a match
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wind — to turn a key

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