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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. stock — goods
  3. land — ground
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stock — shares
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. land — to come down
  9. mark — a grade
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. fall — to drop
  13. track — a path
  14. wound — an injury
  15. track — to keep track
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fall — the season
  18. degree — temperature
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. track — a song
  21. fall — to drop
  22. degree — an amount
  23. mark — a trace
  24. land — a country

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