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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pit — in a race
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. fall — the season
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. fall — to drop
  14. face — to point toward
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — shares
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. stem — to come from
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. face — part of the head
  22. stock — goods
  23. pit — a hole
  24. scale — size or range

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