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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. spring — of water
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bat — the animal
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stock — goods
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. spring — a coil
  13. stock — shares
  14. fall — the season
  15. firm — decided
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. firm — a company
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. spring — the season

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