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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: mug · stock · bass · pass · perch · cold · net · face

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cold — an illness
  3. face — to confront
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mug — a cup
  6. perch — the fish
  7. pass — a permit
  8. face — to point toward
  9. stock — shares
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. face — part of the head
  12. mug — to rob
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. net — after costs
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. net — for catching
  17. mug — a face
  18. bass — low music
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — goods

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