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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. firm — steady
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. season — in sport
  6. firm — decided
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. stock — shares
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. firm — a company
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fall — the season
  16. chair — a leader
  17. season — of the year
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. pound — a weight
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. stock — goods
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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