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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 120 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cold — not warm
  6. face — to confront
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stock — shares
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. field — for sport
  11. stock — goods
  12. field — farmland
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. face — part of the head
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. field — a subject
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pitch — completely

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