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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 116 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: march · bat · face · deal · stock · dip · row · current

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. march — the month
  3. face — to point toward
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to confront
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. current — electric
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. row — a line
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bat — the animal
  14. stock — shares
  15. dip — to sink
  16. row — to paddle
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. current — of water
  19. march — music
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. current — happening now
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. march — the month
  24. dip — a sauce

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