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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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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: leaves · bay · file · stock · rest · face · cell · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. face — to point toward
  3. rest — what's left
  4. face — to confront
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. rest — what's left
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. file — a tool
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. rest — a break
  14. cell — a phone
  15. stock — shares
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. file — a document
  21. mate — a partner
  22. face — part of the head
  23. stock — goods
  24. file — a line of people

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