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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. plane — a tool
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stock — goods
  8. bear — the animal
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bear — the animal
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. last — finally
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. scale — in music
  23. squash — to crush
  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