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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. fall — to drop
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. hand — help
  5. fall — the season
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wound — an injury
  8. prune — to trim
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. net — after costs
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. net — for catching
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. fall — to drop
  19. lie — to recline
  20. stock — shares
  21. net — in sport
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — thin
  24. wound — an injury

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