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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. face — to point toward
  3. current — happening now
  4. land — to come down
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. current — electric
  8. current — of water
  9. rest — what's left
  10. land — a country
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — goods
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. face — to confront
  18. rest — a break
  19. stem — to come from
  20. cold — an illness
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. land — ground
  24. stock — shares

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