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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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. stock — shares
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. face — part of the head
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. face — to point toward
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. face — to confront
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. plane — a tool
  17. scale — size or range
  18. spring — the season
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. wake — a trail
  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