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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 120 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: fine · swing · bat · mark · fall · face · net · stock

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fine — high quality
  6. stock — goods
  7. net — for catching
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to confront
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fall — the season
  12. mark — a grade
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. face — to point toward
  17. stock — shares
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fine — all right
  20. swing — music
  21. net — after costs
  22. mark — a trace
  23. net — in sport
  24. fine — a penalty

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