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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. cold — an illness
  4. dip — to sink
  5. stock — shares
  6. snap — to click
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. stock — goods
  10. object — to protest
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fall — to drop
  16. object — a thing
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. object — an aim
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fall — to drop
  23. land — to come down
  24. dip — to dunk

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