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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. face — to confront
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. spell — letters
  6. kick — in football
  7. spell — magic
  8. face — to point toward
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. cold — an illness
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. stock — goods
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spell — a short time
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. spring — the season
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. face — part of the head
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. temple — a place of worship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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