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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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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: board · stock · game · face · perch · capital · wax · saw

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. stock — goods
  3. board — a committee
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. perch — the fish
  9. face — to point toward
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stock — shares
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. face — to confront
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. capital — a city
  20. board — to get on
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. capital — money
  24. game — wild animals

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