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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fine — all right
  3. face — part of the head
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. face — to point toward
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. wound — an injury
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. face — to confront
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. stock — shares
  16. fine — high quality
  17. stock — goods
  18. saw — the tool

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