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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. face — to confront
  4. stem — to come from
  5. face — part of the head
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. present — the time now
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. land — ground
  13. sharp — clever
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. land — to come down
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. face — to point toward
  21. land — a country
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. pass — a permit
  24. bark — to shout

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