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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bear — the animal
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. fall — the season
  12. key — in music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. court — of law
  15. key — for a lock
  16. court — for sport
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bear — the animal
  20. court — of a king
  21. content — happy
  22. stock — goods
  23. file — a document
  24. stock — shares

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