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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. field — a subject
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stock — goods
  7. rule — government
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. field — farmland
  10. rule — a law
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stock — shares
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mine — for digging
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. chest — a box
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. fall — the season
  24. field — for sport

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