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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: bat · band · face · stock · squash · last · lie · mark

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bat — the animal
  5. band — a ring
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. squash — the sport
  8. face — part of the head
  9. band — a music group
  10. face — to point toward
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. mark — a grade
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. lie — to recline
  16. face — to confront
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. last — final
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. mark — a trace

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