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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. spring — a coil
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. face — part of the head
  5. stock — goods
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — to confront
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. plane — a tool
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. stock — shares
  16. net — after costs
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. net — for catching
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. shower — rain
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. shower — to wash

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