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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: file · spell · stock · season · date · plane · wake · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. stock — goods
  3. spell — letters
  4. date — the fruit
  5. plane — a tool
  6. season — of the year
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wake — a trail
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spell — magic
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. face — part of the head
  14. stock — shares
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. season — in sport
  19. face — to confront
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. file — a document

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