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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. fall — to drop
  3. stock — goods
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — a match
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. fall — to drop
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. mark — a grade
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. game — wild animals
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rush — hurry
  19. fall — the season
  20. stock — shares
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. mark — a trace
  23. stem — to come from
  24. rush — to hurry

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