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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: swing · face · roll · chest · stock · sharp · can · chip

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. can — a tin
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. face — to confront
  5. can — to be able to
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. sharp — clever
  9. chip — to eat
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chip — for betting
  12. stock — goods
  13. swing — to play on
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — a cake
  16. chest — a box
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. swing — music
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. face — part of the head
  21. can — a tin
  22. stock — shares
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. chip — in a computer

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