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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. face — to confront
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. mug — a cup
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. ground — crushed
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — part of the head
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ground — the earth
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. mug — a face
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. ground — a position
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pound — a weight
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pound — to hit hard

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