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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. scale — size or range
  3. face — to point toward
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. march — the month
  8. face — to confront
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. band — a ring
  11. scale — in music
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. face — part of the head
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. band — a music group
  17. march — the month
  18. land — to come down
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. march — music
  24. pitcher — a jug

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