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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pop — to visit
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stem — to come from
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wound — an injury
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. face — part of the head
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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