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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 · wind · snap · stock · track · mine · tube · bay

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stock — shares
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stock — goods
  10. face — to confront
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. tube — a container
  13. wind — moving air
  14. tube — the underground
  15. mine — for digging
  16. face — part of the head
  17. snap — to click
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. track — a path
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. track — a song

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