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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. ground — crushed
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — part of the head
  5. band — a ring
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. ground — a position
  8. wound — an injury
  9. ground — the earth
  10. stock — goods
  11. pit — in a race
  12. stock — shares
  13. band — a music group
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wound — an injury
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. present — there
  19. land — ground
  20. pit — a hole
  21. present — the time now
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. land — a country
  24. present — a gift

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