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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. land — to come down
  4. hand — help
  5. game — a match
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. stock — goods
  10. land — a country
  11. last — to go on
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. land — ground
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wound — an injury
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. game — wild animals
  19. wound — an injury
  20. hand — in cards
  21. last — final
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. last — finally
  24. stock — a soup base

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