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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. face — to point toward
  6. stock — goods
  7. face — part of the head
  8. board — to get on
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. mine — for digging
  14. land — a country
  15. face — to confront
  16. land — ground
  17. game — a match
  18. stock — shares
  19. board — a committee
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. game — wild animals
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. game — a kind of play

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