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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. stock — shares
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. last — to go on
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. date — the fruit
  9. chair — a leader
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. face — to confront
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cell — in biology
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. last — finally
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. stock — goods
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. last — final
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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