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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.

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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: rock · craft · bound · saw · stock · face · clip · fine

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. face — to confront
  3. craft — a skill
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rock — music
  7. bound — tied together
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. face — to point toward
  10. fine — high quality
  11. craft — boats
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. fine — all right
  15. rock — a stone
  16. saw — the tool
  17. stock — shares
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. bound — obliged
  20. clip — for paper
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. bound — certain
  23. face — part of the head
  24. stock — goods

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