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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — to come from
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. hand — help
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. tear — from crying
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. face — to confront
  19. hand — in cards
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mine — for digging

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