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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.

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: leaves · court · press · face · net · wind · wave · stock

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. face — to point toward
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. court — of law
  6. net — after costs
  7. wind — moving air
  8. court — for sport
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. press — newspapers
  14. court — of a king
  15. stock — goods
  16. press — to push
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stock — shares
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. face — to confront
  24. wave — of the sea

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