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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 124 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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. stock — goods
  5. cold — not warm
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cold — an illness
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — shares
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. sharp — clever
  24. chair — a leader

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