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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: lie · stock · pit · degree · present · march · fall · rule

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. fall — to drop
  5. present — a gift
  6. degree — from a university
  7. march — the month
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — a law
  10. march — music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. march — the month
  16. present — there
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. pit — a hole
  20. lie — to recline
  21. present — the time now
  22. pit — in a race
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fall — the season

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