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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: roll · lash · stock · row · land · wave · dip · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. stock — goods
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. roll — a cake
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. row — a line
  7. land — a country
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. dip — to sink
  13. land — ground
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. land — to come down
  17. stock — shares
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to point toward
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a list

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