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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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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: spring · face · stock · ruler · mine · rest · fork · kid

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. stock — goods
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. face — part of the head
  6. stock — shares
  7. rest — what's left
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. rest — a break
  13. kid — to tease
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mine — for digging
  17. kid — child
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. rest — what's left
  21. spring — of water
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. fork — in a road

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