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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: pitcher · stock · fine · cell · face · wind · straw · mark

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — a trace
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. face — to point toward
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. fine — all right
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — part of the head
  16. stock — shares
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cell — in biology
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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