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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. land — ground
  3. stock — goods
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. face — to confront
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pass — a permit
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. stock — shares
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. key — for a lock
  13. dip — to sink
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. key — in music
  16. pitch — completely
  17. land — to come down
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to point toward
  22. key — the most important part
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. land — a country

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