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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. file — a tool
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cap — of ice
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — part of the head
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. file — a document
  9. face — to confront
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — hurry
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — a lid
  21. file — a line of people
  22. scale — in music
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bat — the animal

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