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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. scale — in music
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bear — the animal
  9. fall — to drop
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. fall — the season
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bear — the animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. wound — an injury
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. spring — of water
  24. stock — shares

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