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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. face — to confront
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mine — for digging
  6. face — to point toward
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. face — part of the head
  15. stock — shares
  16. shower — rain
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stock — goods

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