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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chip · net · rule · bat · stock · face

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bat — the animal
  7. face — to point toward
  8. net — after costs
  9. face — to confront
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. rule — government
  13. net — in sport
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. net — for catching
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — to rule out

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