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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 · bound · cabinet · deal · stock · wind · chest · stick

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chest — a box
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. stock — goods
  11. bound — certain
  12. face — to confront
  13. bound — obliged
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bound — tied together
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — to handle

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