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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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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. clip — to cut
  3. ground — the earth
  4. stock — shares
  5. chip — to eat
  6. ground — crushed
  7. face — to confront
  8. chip — for betting
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. ground — a position
  12. perch — the fish
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. last — finally
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. last — to go on
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. face — part of the head
  22. last — final
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — a soup base

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