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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. stock — goods
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. face — part of the head
  5. chest — a box
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. lean — to bend
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bass — low music
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bass — the fish
  15. game — a match
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. game — wild animals
  18. face — to confront
  19. chest — of your body
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — in sport
  22. stock — shares
  23. lean — thin
  24. fan — a supporter

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