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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: craft · pass · field · chair · rush · stock · face · arm

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — a permit
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. stock — shares
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rush — hurry
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. stock — goods
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chair — a leader
  15. face — part of the head
  16. craft — a skill
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. craft — boats
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. field — for sport

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