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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. stock — shares
  3. pop — soda
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. tear — to rip
  6. net — after costs
  7. pop — to visit
  8. spring — the season
  9. stock — goods
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. plane — a tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pop — music
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. rush — hurry
  18. spring — a coil
  19. tear — from crying
  20. net — for catching
  21. spring — of water
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rush — a thrill
  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