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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. stock — goods
  3. chest — a box
  4. track — a path
  5. last — to go on
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. face — to confront
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. saw — the tool
  12. face — to point toward
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rush — hurry
  15. track — a song
  16. chest — of your body
  17. last — finally
  18. saw — the tool
  19. last — final
  20. stock — shares
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. track — to keep track
  23. arm — a part of something
  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