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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. cell — a phone
  5. face — to point toward
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — in music
  8. face — part of the head
  9. fork — in a road
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. stock — shares
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. face — to confront
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — a trail
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. stock — goods
  24. spell — a short time

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