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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. spell — magic
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. spell — letters
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. last — to go on
  7. fall — the season
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. stock — goods
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bat — the animal
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. stock — shares
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. last — final
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. last — finally

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