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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. track — a path
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. fall — to drop
  5. object — to protest
  6. tear — from crying
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. land — a country
  10. swing — to play on
  11. object — a thing
  12. fall — to drop
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. stock — shares
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. swing — music
  20. fall — the season
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. swing — in golf
  23. object — an aim
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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