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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 124 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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. tube — a container
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. land — ground
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stock — goods
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. clip — a video
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. land — to come down
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. row — to paddle
  19. clip — for paper
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. land — a country
  23. row — a line
  24. tube — the underground

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