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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  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. rock — music
  2. cue — for pool
  3. fine — all right
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to point toward
  6. field — a subject
  7. cue — a hint
  8. fine — high quality
  9. stock — shares
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. court — for sport
  12. rock — a stone
  13. field — farmland
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. court — of law
  17. cue — a signal
  18. court — of a king
  19. face — to confront
  20. field — for sport
  21. branch — a division
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — goods
  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