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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: plane · mug · stock · press · chest · wind · face · row

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mug — a cup
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. face — to confront
  8. mug — to rob
  9. row — to paddle
  10. plane — a tool
  11. press — to push
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. chest — of your body
  14. row — a line
  15. press — newspapers
  16. mug — a face
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. chest — a box
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. stock — goods
  21. press — a publisher
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stock — shares

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