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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bore — to tire
  5. pass — a permit
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. can — a tin
  8. cold — an illness
  9. can — a tin
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stock — goods
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. can — to be able to
  16. fall — the season
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. fall — to drop
  20. shower — rain
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stock — shares
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. pass — to succeed

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