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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: march · face · cold · stock · mine · pitcher · deal · racket

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. deal — to handle
  3. march — music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. stock — shares
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. march — the month
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. mine — for digging
  17. face — to point toward
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — part of the head
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. march — the month
  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