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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. track — a path
  4. track — to keep track
  5. lean — thin
  6. spell — letters
  7. fall — to drop
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. land — to come down
  10. spell — a short time
  11. fall — the season
  12. track — a song
  13. fall — to drop
  14. chair — a leader
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. stock — shares
  17. land — ground
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. stock — goods
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. lean — to bend
  22. spell — magic
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. land — a country

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