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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — finally
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. last — to go on
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. scale — size or range
  13. stock — shares
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. swing — music
  16. face — to point toward
  17. branch — a division
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stock — goods
  21. swing — to play on
  22. face — to confront
  23. scale — in music
  24. last — final

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