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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. last — finally
  4. stock — goods
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. face — to point toward
  7. game — a match
  8. stock — shares
  9. track — a song
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. face — to confront
  12. last — final
  13. wound — an injury
  14. game — wild animals
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. wound — an injury
  18. face — part of the head
  19. board — a committee
  20. track — a path
  21. last — to go on
  22. track — to keep track
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. racket — for tennis

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