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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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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: wind · pitcher · spell · stock · fall · foot · tear · bear

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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. bear — to put up with
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spell — magic
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fall — the season
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. stock — goods
  10. foot — a measure
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. spell — letters
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spell — a short time
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. bear — the animal
  23. tear — to rip
  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