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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: cap · face · stock · field · ball · rule

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. field — farmland
  4. face — part of the head
  5. stock — shares
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. stock — goods
  9. face — to point toward
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. rule — government
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a great time
  16. face — to confront
  17. rule — a law
  18. ball — a dance

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