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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. mark — a grade
  3. charge — electricity
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. charge — a price
  6. mark — a trace
  7. bound — obliged
  8. field — farmland
  9. bound — certain
  10. stock — shares
  11. charge — in control
  12. bound — tied together
  13. degree — temperature
  14. face — part of the head
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. face — to confront
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. degree — an amount
  19. field — for sport
  20. bat — the animal
  21. field — a subject
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stock — goods
  24. bat — for baseball

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