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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 116 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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. face — to confront
  5. stock — goods
  6. ground — a position
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. snap — to click
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. band — a music group
  13. ground — crushed
  14. face — part of the head
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. sharp — clever
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wind — moving air
  23. face — to point toward
  24. wind — moving air

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