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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cell · fine · capital · pitcher · face · chair · stock · mouse

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. fine — high quality
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. capital — money
  6. stock — shares
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. face — to confront
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stock — goods
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fine — all right
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. face — to point toward
  23. mouse — the animal
  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