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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 116 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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. stock — goods
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stock — shares
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rash — a series
  7. rock — music
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. court — of law
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. ground — crushed
  13. rash — hasty
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. ground — a position
  19. rock — a stone
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. court — of a king
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. court — for sport
  24. ground — the earth

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