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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 116 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. fall — the season
  7. stem — to come from
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. squash — to crush
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mark — a grade
  18. squash — the sport
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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