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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stock — shares
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. degree — temperature
  9. stock — goods
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. ground — crushed
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ground — the earth
  16. can — to be able to
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. degree — an amount
  19. dip — to sink
  20. can — a tin
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. fall — the season
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. ground — a position

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