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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. face — to confront
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — in music
  6. cue — for pool
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. cue — a signal
  11. land — a country
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. row — a line
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. face — part of the head
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. face — to point toward
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. stem — to come from
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cue — a hint

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