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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 · prune · arm · wave · stock · ground · chip · cell

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cell — in biology
  5. chip — for betting
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. ground — a position
  11. face — to point toward
  12. ground — crushed
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. face — to confront
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. face — part of the head
  22. chip — to eat
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wave — of the sea

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