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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: tear · season · bound · club · face · chest · stock · track

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. club — a group
  3. track — a path
  4. chest — a box
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. club — for golf
  7. bound — obliged
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. chest — of your body
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. club — for dancing
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. track — a song
  21. tear — from crying
  22. track — to keep track
  23. chest — of your body
  24. tear — to rip

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