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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. root — of a word
  3. stock — goods
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rest — a break
  6. drill — a practice
  7. face — to confront
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. root — the cause
  10. face — part of the head
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wind — moving air
  13. face — to point toward
  14. fall — to drop
  15. root — of a plant
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. stock — shares
  18. rest — what's left
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. drill — army training
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wind — moving air

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