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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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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chest — of your body
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. ground — crushed
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. rash — a series
  9. ground — a position
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. ground — the earth
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stem — to come from
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. face — part of the head
  20. tear — from crying
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chest — a box
  24. arm — part of the body

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