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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  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. mark — to pay attention
  2. object — a thing
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stock — shares
  6. swing — music
  7. rash — a series
  8. branch — a division
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. wind — moving air
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. mark — a trace
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. mark — a grade
  19. object — an aim
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. object — to protest
  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