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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. stock — goods
  4. staff — a stick
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cell — a phone
  11. staff — employees
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stock — shares
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. staff — employees
  20. vault — a safe
  21. face — part of the head
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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