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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · lean · stock · fall · race · rule

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. fall — the season
  5. race — humankind
  6. stock — goods
  7. lean — to bend
  8. wake — a trail
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stock — shares
  11. rule — government
  12. race — a contest
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. rule — a law
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stock — a soup base

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