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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. cell — a phone
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fall — the season
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. cell — in biology
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. face — part of the head
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. stem — to come from
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fall — to drop
  24. stem — a stem cell

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