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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. craft — boats
  4. net — after costs
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a path
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. track — a song
  12. craft — a skill
  13. net — for catching
  14. chair — a leader
  15. stock — goods
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. stock — shares
  20. net — in sport
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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