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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. face — part of the head
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. spell — magic
  6. track — a path
  7. present — the time now
  8. bass — low music
  9. spell — letters
  10. wind — moving air
  11. date — the fruit
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. present — a gift
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. track — a song
  17. face — to confront
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stock — goods
  20. present — there
  21. stock — shares
  22. spell — a short time
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. track — to keep track

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