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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: stand · bat · stock · wind · fall · lie · cap · bark

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. stock — goods
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. stand — to bear
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fall — the season
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bark — to shout
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. bat — the animal
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — to recline
  24. wind — moving air

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