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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. snap — to click
  3. net — after costs
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — part of the head
  7. net — for catching
  8. hand — help
  9. cap — of ice
  10. stem — to come from
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. face — to confront
  15. net — in sport
  16. cap — a hat
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cap — a lid
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. hand — in cards
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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