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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: last · saw · pit · face · stock · wound · ground · mine

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. last — final
  5. face — part of the head
  6. stock — shares
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. saw — the tool
  9. last — finally
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. face — to confront
  15. pit — a hole
  16. stock — goods
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wound — an injury
  20. last — to go on
  21. ground — a position
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mine — for digging

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