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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. chest — of your body
  4. snap — to click
  5. chest — of your body
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. face — to point toward
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. face — part of the head
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. scale — in music
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. chest — a box
  20. scale — size or range
  21. chip — for betting
  22. bulb — for light
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — in a computer

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