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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. spell — a short time
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. stock — shares
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stock — goods
  8. chest — a box
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spell — magic
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chest — of your body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. field — for sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cell — in biology
  18. spell — letters
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mark — a trace
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. mark — a grade

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