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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — a tin
  4. land — to come down
  5. face — to point toward
  6. game — a match
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. face — to confront
  11. can — to be able to
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. land — ground
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. stock — goods
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. game — wild animals
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. land — a country
  24. bay — a horse colour

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