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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. face — part of the head
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. court — for sport
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. prune — to trim
  12. charge — a price
  13. firm — steady
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stock — goods
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king
  19. charge — in control
  20. prune — to trim
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. firm — a company
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. charge — electricity

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