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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. face — to confront
  3. present — a gift
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. squash — to crush
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stock — shares
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. stock — goods
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. face — part of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bass — low music
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cold — an illness
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bass — the fish
  24. present — the time now

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