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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. capital — money
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. shower — rain
  7. face — part of the head
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. march — the month
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. capital — a city
  13. march — music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. saw — the tool
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — the tool
  18. shower — to wash
  19. march — the month
  20. face — to point toward
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. stem — to come from

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