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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stock — goods
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. shower — rain
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. dip — to sink
  7. bass — the fish
  8. snap — to click
  9. scale — in music
  10. bass — low music
  11. stock — shares
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. fall — the season
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. fall — to drop
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. fall — to drop
  22. scale — size or range
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. lie — to recline

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