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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 120 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: face · wake · tube · rule · spring · pit · mate · stock

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. tube — the underground
  3. stock — goods
  4. spring — a coil
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. mate — a partner
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. mate — a friend
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wake — a trail
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. stock — shares
  17. rule — a law
  18. spring — of water
  19. face — to confront
  20. tube — a container
  21. face — to point toward
  22. mate — to breed
  23. rule — government
  24. face — part of the head

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