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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fall — to drop
  5. court — of a king
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. court — of law
  9. ground — a position
  10. shower — rain
  11. ground — crushed
  12. shower — to wash
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. ground — the earth
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. court — for sport
  19. stock — shares
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. hand — help
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — goods

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