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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: net · cold · object · ball · stock · field · safe · face

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. net — for catching
  3. object — to protest
  4. ball — a great time
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cold — an illness
  7. net — in sport
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. field — for sport
  11. cold — not warm
  12. face — to point toward
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. object — a thing
  15. field — a subject
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. field — farmland
  19. net — after costs
  20. stock — shares
  21. face — to confront
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. stock — goods
  24. face — part of the head

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