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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. last — finally
  3. face — to point toward
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — to crush
  8. last — to go on
  9. face — to confront
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. net — in sport
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. net — after costs
  15. last — final
  16. pass — a permit
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. staff — a stick
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. face — part of the head
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. net — for catching

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