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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. fall — to drop
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. stock — goods
  7. fall — the season
  8. pass — a permit
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rush — hurry

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