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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. face — to point toward
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. key — for a lock
  5. face — part of the head
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. craft — boats
  8. cell — in biology
  9. snap — to click
  10. game — wild animals
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. key — the most important part
  14. face — to confront
  15. craft — a skill
  16. game — a match
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — to come from
  19. shower — rain
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. key — in music
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. game — a kind of play

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