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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. stem — to come from
  3. face — to confront
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. fork — in a road
  6. hand — help
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — low music
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wound — an injury
  19. face — to point toward
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. rest — a break
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. fork — to eat with

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