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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: wound · chair · stock · mark · object · face · fine · clip

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. clip — for paper
  3. object — an aim
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mark — a grade
  6. object — to protest
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a trace
  9. face — to confront
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. object — a thing
  12. stock — shares
  13. face — to point toward
  14. stock — goods
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fine — high quality
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. clip — a video
  22. chair — a leader
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fine — all right

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