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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. lean — to bend
  7. can — a tin
  8. land — to come down
  9. face — to point toward
  10. date — the fruit
  11. face — part of the head
  12. lean — thin
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. can — a tin
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — a series
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. wax — to grow
  23. rash — hasty
  24. can — to be able to

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