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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: stock · mine · game · fall · face · cell · cue · tear

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. stock — shares
  3. mine — for digging
  4. tear — from crying
  5. game — a match
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cue — for pool
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. fall — the season
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cue — a hint
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. stock — goods
  18. face — part of the head
  19. cue — a signal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. tear — to rip
  23. game — wild animals
  24. cell — a phone

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