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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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Word bank
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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: face · race · wound · stock · degree · bear

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. face — part of the head
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. degree — from a university
  9. race — a contest
  10. degree — an amount
  11. race — humankind
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. face — to confront
  14. degree — temperature
  15. face — to point toward
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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