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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. stock — goods
  4. wake — a trail
  5. ball — a dance
  6. season — of the year
  7. field — a subject
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wound — an injury
  10. field — for sport
  11. ball — a great time
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. season — in sport
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. face — to confront
  21. stock — shares
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — farmland
  24. face — part of the head

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