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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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Word bank
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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 · hide · bat · fall · stock · safe · tear · branch

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bat — the animal
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. tear — from crying
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. stock — shares
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fall — the season
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. branch — a division
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wake — a trail
  19. stock — goods
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. tear — to rip
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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