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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: face · coach · wind · rest · wake · cap · stock · bat

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. face — to confront
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cap — a lid
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. rest — a break
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. face — part of the head
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. face — to point toward
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. rest — what's left

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