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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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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: row · cap · stock · chair · key · wake · face · fall

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. key — the most important part
  3. stock — goods
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. cap — a hat
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. wake — a trail
  9. cap — of ice
  10. chair — a leader
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stock — shares
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. cap — a lid
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — in music
  19. row — to paddle
  20. face — to confront
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. face — to point toward
  24. fall — the season

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