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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · ground · rush · wound · calf · season · racket · stock

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. ground — a position
  4. wound — an injury
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. face — to confront
  7. stock — shares
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. ground — the earth
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — hurry
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. season — of the year
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wound — an injury
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. season — in sport

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