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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: bay · face · court · chair · tear · mark · stock · rock

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mark — a grade
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. court — of law
  9. rock — music
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. face — part of the head
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. face — to confront
  16. court — for sport
  17. mark — a trace
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — goods
  20. court — of a king
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. tear — to rip
  23. rock — a stone
  24. face — to point toward

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