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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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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cold — an illness
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — electric
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. game — wild animals
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. face — to confront
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — goods
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. game — a match
  17. ball — a dance
  18. current — of water
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. face — to point toward
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. branch — a division
  24. cold — not warm

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