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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. fine — all right
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bound — certain
  6. current — of water
  7. fine — high quality
  8. cold — not warm
  9. face — to confront
  10. stock — goods
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. last — finally
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — obliged
  16. current — electric
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. current — happening now
  20. last — final
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. last — to go on
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stock — shares

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