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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. stock — shares
  3. face — to confront
  4. drill — a practice
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. drill — army training
  11. face — to point toward
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. prune — to trim
  16. drill — the tool
  17. prune — to trim
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. stock — goods

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