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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. face — to confront
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kid — child
  8. stock — shares
  9. kid — to tease
  10. stock — goods
  11. game — a match
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. game — wild animals

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