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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. land — a country
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. land — ground
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. fall — the season
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spell — magic
  11. lie — to recline
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fall — to drop
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. land — to come down
  16. season — of the year
  17. stock — goods
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. season — in sport
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. stock — shares
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fall — to drop

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