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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. march — music
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. fall — to drop
  9. march — the month
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fine — all right
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. stock — goods
  14. plane — a tool
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cell — in biology
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. cell — a phone
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. fine — high quality
  22. march — the month
  23. fall — the season
  24. plane — in geometry

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