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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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468
Word bank
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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. face — part of the head
  3. track — to keep track
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. track — a path
  7. track — a song
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. face — to confront
  10. net — for catching
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. land — ground
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. fine — all right
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fine — high quality
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cold — not warm
  22. land — a country
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. stand — for spectators

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