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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 124 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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. march — the month
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stock — goods
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. bat — the animal
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. tube — a container
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tube — the underground
  12. march — the month
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. fall — the season
  18. board — to get on
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. march — music
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. board — a committee
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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