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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. stock — goods
  3. face — to point toward
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. last — to go on
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. face — part of the head
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. face — to confront
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. cold — an illness

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