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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. face — to point toward
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. face — part of the head
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. net — in sport
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. foot — a measure
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. date — the fruit
  20. stem — to come from
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. face — to confront
  23. wind — moving air
  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