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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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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: pitcher · clip · stock · mark · face · present · wake · hand

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. face — to point toward
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mark — a trace
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. present — a gift
  8. stock — goods
  9. clip — a video
  10. wake — a trail
  11. hand — help
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. face — part of the head
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. clip — for paper
  21. face — to confront
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. mark — a grade

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