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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 116 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stock — goods
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. current — electric
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. clip — a video
  9. current — of water
  10. current — happening now
  11. bass — the fish
  12. stock — shares
  13. hand — help
  14. face — to point toward
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — to push
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. press — newspapers
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. face — part of the head

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