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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 116 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — a thing
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cold — an illness
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. face — to confront
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bat — the animal
  13. face — part of the head
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. object — to protest
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. deal — to handle
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. pass — a permit
  24. cold — not warm

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