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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: pass · wake · stock · face · cold · squash · spell · bulb

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  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. face — to confront
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. cold — not warm
  4. spell — a short time
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. spell — letters
  7. bulb — for light
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. wake — a trail
  11. spell — magic
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. stock — goods
  14. pass — a permit
  15. stock — shares
  16. face — to point toward
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. face — part of the head
  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