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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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. degree — from a university
  4. can — a tin
  5. rock — music
  6. can — a tin
  7. fall — the season
  8. charge — a price
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stock — shares
  11. roll — a list
  12. cold — not warm
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. charge — electricity
  16. can — to be able to
  17. roll — a cake
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rock — a stone
  20. stock — goods
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. cold — an illness
  24. charge — in control

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