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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 124 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. wind — moving air
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — to confront
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cap — of ice
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. band — a music group
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. band — a ring
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. face — part of the head
  15. wind — moving air
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stem — to come from
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. pass — a permit

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