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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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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: stock · cap · face · fall · perch · roll · last · leaves

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. roll — a cake
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stock — shares
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a hat
  7. face — to point toward
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cap — a lid
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. last — to go on
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. fall — the season
  16. perch — the fish
  17. last — finally
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. roll — a list
  20. stock — goods
  21. face — to confront
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. fall — to drop
  24. face — part of the head

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