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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. fall — to drop
  4. capital — a city
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pass — a permit
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. stock — goods
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bear — the animal
  14. chest — a box
  15. row — a line
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. stock — shares
  19. capital — money
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bear — the animal
  23. fall — the season
  24. pound — to hit hard

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