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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. field — farmland
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. face — to point toward
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wound — an injury
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. face — to confront
  24. stem — a stem cell

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