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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. stock — shares
  3. face — to point toward
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. spring — of water
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. spring — the season
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. stock — goods
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. face — to confront
  18. date — the fruit
  19. face — part of the head
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. wound — an injury

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