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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. key — in music
  3. land — to come down
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. key — the most important part
  7. firm — a company
  8. firm — decided
  9. land — ground
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. key — for a lock
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. face — to point toward
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. face — part of the head
  21. firm — steady
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wax — to grow
  24. land — a country

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