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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rest — a break
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. net — after costs
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — the amount
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. face — part of the head
  13. rest — what's left
  14. face — to point toward
  15. net — for catching
  16. band — a ring
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. band — a music group
  21. net — in sport
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stem — to come from
  24. content — happy

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