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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. field — a subject
  3. stock — shares
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — part of the head
  7. stock — goods
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. field — farmland
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. field — for sport
  13. rule — a law
  14. mate — a partner
  15. rule — government
  16. plane — a tool
  17. face — to point toward
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. mate — a friend
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mate — to breed

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