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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. stock — shares
  4. face — to confront
  5. bound — tied together
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wind — moving air
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. chest — a box
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. bound — obliged
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stock — goods
  21. chest — of your body
  22. face — to point toward
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. fork — to eat with

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