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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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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. club — for dancing
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bear — the animal
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. rock — music
  10. face — to confront
  11. bear — the animal
  12. club — a group
  13. game — wild animals
  14. rock — a stone
  15. shower — rain
  16. stem — to come from
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. shower — to wash
  20. club — for golf
  21. mate — a friend
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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