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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: face · cell · ball · present · mark · hand · track · stock

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. ball — a great time
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. present — there
  5. track — to keep track
  6. stock — shares
  7. present — the time now
  8. ball — a dance
  9. cell — a phone
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cell — in biology
  12. hand — help
  13. face — to point toward
  14. present — a gift
  15. track — a path
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mark — a grade
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. track — a song
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. stock — goods
  23. hand — in cards
  24. mark — a trace

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