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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. face — part of the head
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. drill — army training
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stock — shares
  7. can — a tin
  8. bat — the animal
  9. drill — the tool
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cold — an illness
  12. object — to protest
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — a friend
  15. can — to be able to
  16. object — a thing
  17. can — a tin
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. mate — to breed
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — to point toward
  23. object — an aim
  24. cold — not warm

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