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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. root — the cause
  5. file — a document
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. land — a country
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. file — a line of people
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. file — a tool
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. root — of a plant
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to confront
  17. root — of a word
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. shower — rain
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. shower — to wash
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — a stem cell

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