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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. stock — goods
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fall — to drop
  5. object — an aim
  6. pop — soda
  7. fall — the season
  8. object — to protest
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. pop — to visit
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fall — to drop
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. swing — in golf
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. pop — music
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — to rest against

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