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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: mug · capital · can · track · face · stock · shower · file

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mug — a face
  3. face — to point toward
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. file — a tool
  7. face — part of the head
  8. track — a path
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. can — to be able to
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a cup
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. capital — a city
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a song
  23. shower — rain
  24. capital — money

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