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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fall — the season
  6. chest — of your body
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. staff — employees
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. degree — an amount
  15. fall — to drop
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. staff — a stick
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bat — the animal
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — goods
  22. staff — employees
  23. chest — a box
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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