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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stock — shares
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stock — goods
  11. race — a contest
  12. firm — decided
  13. rule — a law
  14. fall — the season
  15. wind — moving air
  16. firm — steady
  17. race — humankind
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. firm — a company
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rule — government
  22. land — to come down
  23. wound — an injury
  24. race — the arms race

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