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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. face — to confront
  3. band — a ring
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. club — for dancing
  7. face — part of the head
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. kid — child
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. pitch — completely
  12. stock — shares
  13. kid — to tease
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. club — for golf
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. band — a music group
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. club — a group
  21. face — to point toward
  22. file — a tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. stock — goods

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