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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — in control
  6. face — to confront
  7. stock — goods
  8. face — to point toward
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. face — part of the head
  11. field — a subject
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. charge — electricity
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. field — for sport
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. stock — shares
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. plane — a tool
  24. branch — of a tree

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