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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. row — a line
  3. stock — shares
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. row — to paddle
  7. stock — goods
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. fine — all right
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. season — of the year
  14. degree — from a university
  15. face — to point toward
  16. season — in sport
  17. face — part of the head
  18. pitch — completely
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. fine — high quality
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. straw — a straw man

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