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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.

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 · pound · cold · stock · row · key · tube · fan

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — to confront
  3. tube — a container
  4. stock — shares
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. cold — not warm
  8. face — part of the head
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. row — to paddle
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. row — a line
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. key — in music
  20. key — for a lock
  21. stock — goods
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. key — the most important part
  24. cold — an illness

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