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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. field — a subject
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. stock — shares
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. sharp — clever
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. field — farmland
  12. branch — a division
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. face — part of the head
  15. field — for sport
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. face — to point toward
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. dip — to sink
  21. stock — goods
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. kick — in football
  24. fork — in a road

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