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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. stock — goods
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. stock — shares
  8. spell — magic
  9. wind — moving air
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stem — to come from
  16. spell — letters
  17. face — to confront
  18. fall — to drop
  19. scale — size or range
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. spell — a short time
  23. scale — in music
  24. fall — to drop

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