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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — music
  5. season — of the year
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. face — to confront
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to point toward
  11. land — ground
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — a tool
  15. land — a country
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. stock — goods
  18. kid — to tease
  19. land — to come down
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. stock — shares
  23. season — in sport
  24. plane — an aircraft

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