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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. season — in sport
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — to confront
  6. land — a country
  7. face — part of the head
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. branch — a division
  10. season — of the year
  11. land — to come down
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. land — ground
  14. stock — shares
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. stock — goods
  18. calf — a young animal

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