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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 116 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. spring — of water
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. face — to point toward
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. press — a publisher
  10. dip — to sink
  11. spring — a coil
  12. content — the amount
  13. press — to push
  14. spring — the season
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. content — happy
  18. drill — a practice
  19. face — to confront
  20. drill — army training
  21. stem — to come from
  22. press — newspapers
  23. drill — the tool
  24. dip — a sauce

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