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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 do you think of the new ________________?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. root — of a plant
  12. fall — the season
  13. row — a line
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. root — the cause
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. degree — from a university
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. root — of a word
  22. stock — shares
  23. lie — to recline
  24. row — to paddle

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