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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: stock · bark · face · foot · rule · season · pit · field

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. field — for sport
  3. foot — a measure
  4. face — part of the head
  5. pit — in a race
  6. bark — to shout
  7. rule — government
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. face — to point toward
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rule — a law
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. field — a subject
  17. pit — a hole
  18. stock — shares
  19. face — to confront
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. field — farmland
  22. stock — goods
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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