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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 120 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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stock — shares
  4. season — in sport
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fall — the season
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lie — to recline
  12. pop — music
  13. degree — temperature
  14. tear — from crying
  15. season — of the year
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. pop — to visit
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tear — to rip
  22. stock — goods
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pop — soda

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