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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pound — a weight
  5. face — to confront
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. chest — of your body
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. field — farmland
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. chest — a box
  14. field — for sport
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. face — to point toward
  21. field — a subject
  22. game — a match
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. chest — of your body

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