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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. band — a music group
  3. tube — a container
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. bark — to shout
  7. object — to protest
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fall — the season
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. object — a thing
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. object — an aim
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. present — the time now
  24. tube — the underground

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