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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. tear — from crying
  3. land — a country
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. cold — not warm
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rash — a series
  10. tear — from crying
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. face — to confront
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. land — to come down
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. land — ground
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. tear — to rip
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. face — part of the head

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