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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. face — to confront
  4. rest — a break
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. face — to point toward
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. stock — goods
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. plane — a tool
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. stock — shares
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cell — a phone
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cell — in biology

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