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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. face — to confront
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. hand — help
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. fine — all right
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bark — to shout
  10. swing — to play on
  11. fine — high quality
  12. hand — in cards
  13. swing — in golf
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wake — a trail
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. face — part of the head
  21. swing — music
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. stock — shares

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