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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. face — to confront
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. swing — to play on
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. game — wild animals
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stock — goods
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. stock — shares
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. fall — the season
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. face — part of the head
  16. game — a match
  17. face — to point toward
  18. fall — to drop

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