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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 124 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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. cell — in biology
  3. face — part of the head
  4. stock — goods
  5. stem — to come from
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. face — to point toward
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stock — shares
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. firm — steady
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a list
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. clip — a video
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. clip — to cut
  20. firm — decided
  21. face — to confront
  22. firm — a company
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. coach — a trainer

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