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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. tube — the underground
  4. mug — a cup
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. mug — a face
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. tube — a container
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lean — thin
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stock — shares
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. mug — to rob
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bat — in an idiom

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