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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. fall — the season
  3. lean — thin
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. track — a path
  6. march — the month
  7. stock — goods
  8. march — the month
  9. stock — shares
  10. lean — to bend
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. last — finally
  14. bat — the animal
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. last — to go on
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fall — to drop
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. track — a song
  22. march — music
  23. fall — to drop
  24. track — to keep track

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