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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. craft — boats
  7. stock — shares
  8. face — to point toward
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bound — obliged
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mark — a grade
  14. kid — child
  15. stock — goods
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. kid — to tease
  19. craft — a skill
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. face — part of the head
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. mark — a trace

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