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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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. root — of a word
  6. stock — shares
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. fine — all right
  9. cold — an illness
  10. root — of a plant
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. fall — the season
  15. cold — not warm
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fine — high quality
  20. root — the cause
  21. stock — goods
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. prune — to trim
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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