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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — letters
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. spell — magic
  6. staff — employees
  7. bass — the fish
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — part of the head
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. staff — a stick
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wake — a trail
  14. spring — the season
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bass — low music
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. staff — employees
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. spring — of water
  24. bass — the instrument

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