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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: season · wind · kid · stock · charge · march · key · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. march — the month
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. charge — a price
  6. key — the most important part
  7. march — music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. charge — in control
  10. key — for a lock
  11. march — the month
  12. key — in music
  13. season — of the year
  14. charge — electricity
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stock — shares
  17. wind — moving air
  18. season — in sport
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. face — to confront
  22. kid — child
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. face — part of the head

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