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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. perch — the fish
  3. face — to point toward
  4. last — finally
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. ground — the earth
  11. season — in sport
  12. ground — crushed
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. ground — a position
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. season — of the year
  17. face — to confront
  18. last — to go on
  19. hand — help
  20. face — part of the head
  21. rule — government
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. hand — in cards
  24. last — final

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