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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. net — after costs
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wind — moving air
  6. club — for dancing
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. club — for golf
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. land — a country
  13. stock — goods
  14. fall — the season
  15. land — ground
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. land — to come down
  20. stock — shares
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fall — to drop
  23. club — a group
  24. fall — to drop

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