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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. face — to point toward
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. face — to confront
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. game — a match
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. tear — from crying
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. game — wild animals
  20. spring — of water
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — to sink
  23. rest — what's left
  24. tear — to rip

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