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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. stock — shares
  3. court — of a king
  4. fall — the season
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fall — to drop
  7. court — of law
  8. pop — music
  9. net — for catching
  10. rule — a law
  11. cap — a lid
  12. court — for sport
  13. net — in sport
  14. pop — soda
  15. cap — of ice
  16. rule — government
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cap — a hat
  23. net — after costs
  24. pop — to visit

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