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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. race — a contest
  4. deal — to handle
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to confront
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. race — the arms race
  9. stock — goods
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. fall — the season
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. face — to point toward
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. stock — shares
  22. cell — a phone
  23. race — humankind
  24. temple — a place of worship

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