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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: face · stock · wound · fine · saw · season · band · march

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. face — part of the head
  4. march — the month
  5. face — to confront
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. stock — goods
  8. march — the month
  9. face — to point toward
  10. march — music
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. season — in sport
  14. stock — shares
  15. saw — the tool
  16. band — a music group
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. band — a ring
  19. fine — all right
  20. saw — the tool
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. season — of the year
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a rubber band

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