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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. current — happening now
  3. wind — moving air
  4. squash — the sport
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. chest — a box
  7. squash — to crush
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stock — goods
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. fall — the season
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. stock — shares
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rock — music
  20. current — electric
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rock — a stone
  23. current — of water
  24. trunk — of a car

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