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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: can · trunk · season · squash · cold · pass · face · stock

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  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. face — to confront
  2. season — in sport
  3. squash — the sport
  4. stock — shares
  5. season — of the year
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. cold — not warm
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. stock — goods
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. squash — to crush
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. can — a tin
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. can — to be able to
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. pass — a permit
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. face — to point toward
  23. can — a tin
  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