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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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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: board · rash · firm · stock · land · face · press · spell

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. firm — steady
  6. firm — a company
  7. spell — letters
  8. face — to point toward
  9. rash — hasty
  10. firm — decided
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. spell — a short time
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. stock — shares
  17. press — a publisher
  18. face — part of the head
  19. press — to push
  20. land — a country
  21. spell — magic
  22. rash — a series
  23. press — newspapers
  24. stock — goods

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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