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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. face — to confront
  3. stock — goods
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. vault — a safe
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. capital — money
  8. face — part of the head
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bound — tied together
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. face — to point toward
  14. stock — shares
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. bass — low music
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. bound — certain
  23. capital — a city
  24. bound — obliged

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