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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: band · toast · degree · stock · wound · face · current · hand

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wound — an injury
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — to point toward
  6. current — of water
  7. degree — an amount
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. toast — bread
  11. band — a music group
  12. wound — an injury
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. degree — from a university
  16. current — electric
  17. stock — goods
  18. degree — temperature
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. face — part of the head
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. current — happening now
  23. stock — shares
  24. hand — help

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