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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chest — of your body
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. fall — the season
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. prune — to trim
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. last — to go on
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — of your body
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. kick — in football
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. fall — to drop
  19. last — final
  20. present — there
  21. last — finally
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — a gift

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