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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: face · stock · straw · root · stand · shower · cold · spell

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stock — goods
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cold — not warm
  7. face — to confront
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. root — of a plant
  10. spell — magic
  11. root — the cause
  12. shower — to wash
  13. face — to point toward
  14. stock — shares
  15. root — of a word
  16. shower — rain
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. spell — letters
  22. face — part of the head
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. cold — an illness

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