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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 120 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mug — to rob
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — shares
  5. cap — a lid
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cap — of ice
  8. mug — a face
  9. degree — from a university
  10. drill — the tool
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — a permit
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mug — a cup
  17. drill — a practice
  18. fall — the season
  19. drill — army training
  20. degree — temperature
  21. cap — a hat
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. mine — for digging

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