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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. object — an aim
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. object — to protest
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bark — to shout
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cell — in biology
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. object — a thing
  17. face — to confront
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. content — happy
  21. cell — a phone
  22. stem — to come from
  23. content — the amount
  24. face — part of the head

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