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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. face — part of the head
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. firm — a company
  5. stock — goods
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. row — to paddle
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. firm — decided
  11. firm — steady
  12. stock — shares
  13. branch — a division
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. face — to confront
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. face — to point toward
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. branch — of a tree

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