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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bass — the fish
  3. fall — the season
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. key — in music
  6. mate — a partner
  7. stock — shares
  8. field — for sport
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. key — the most important part
  12. stock — goods
  13. file — a line of people
  14. key — for a lock
  15. file — a tool
  16. mate — a friend
  17. field — a subject
  18. file — a document
  19. bass — low music
  20. mate — to breed
  21. field — farmland
  22. bound — tied together
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. fall — to drop

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