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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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468
Word bank
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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. face — to point toward
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. face — part of the head
  9. spring — a coil
  10. root — of a word
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. perch — the fish
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. spring — of water
  16. face — to confront
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. root — of a plant
  19. cell — in biology
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. pass — a permit
  23. spring — the season
  24. root — the cause

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