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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. stock — shares
  3. rock — music
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. face — to point toward
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. degree — from a university
  9. face — to confront
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. net — after costs
  12. face — part of the head
  13. hand — in cards
  14. degree — an amount
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. rock — a stone
  17. net — in sport
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. stock — goods
  22. net — for catching
  23. hand — help
  24. degree — temperature

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