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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kid — to tease
  3. row — a line
  4. stock — goods
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. fall — the season
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. rash — a series
  10. row — to paddle
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bore — to tire
  16. rash — hasty
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. kid — child
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bore — to drill
  21. stock — shares
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. pound — a weight
  24. trunk — of a tree

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