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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. stock — shares
  3. fine — all right
  4. object — an aim
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. face — to confront
  11. fine — high quality
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. object — a thing
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. object — to protest
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. stock — goods

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