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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. season — of the year
  4. capital — money
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to confront
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wake — a trail
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. stock — shares
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. season — in sport
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. face — to point toward

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