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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: face · plane · last · snap · bulb · spring · stock · net

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — part of the head
  4. snap — to click
  5. last — final
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. net — for catching
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. spring — the season
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. last — finally
  14. spring — of water
  15. last — to go on
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stock — goods
  18. bulb — for light
  19. stock — shares
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spring — a coil
  22. net — in sport
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. net — after costs

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