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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — there
  5. stock — shares
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. saw — the tool
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. ball — a dance
  14. saw — the tool
  15. ball — a great time
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fall — the season
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. present — the time now
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a tree

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