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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: court · wake · stock · face · club · plane · march · land

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. club — for golf
  3. face — part of the head
  4. plane — a tool
  5. face — to confront
  6. court — for sport
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. club — a group
  11. march — music
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. court — of a king
  16. march — the month
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. land — to come down
  20. wake — a trail
  21. march — the month
  22. court — of law
  23. club — for dancing
  24. plane — in geometry

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