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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 116 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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. face — part of the head
  3. land — ground
  4. face — to confront
  5. land — a country
  6. bank — of a river
  7. face — to point toward
  8. field — farmland
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. land — to come down
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. field — a subject
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. stock — goods
  20. bank — for money
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. field — for sport
  24. bank — for money

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