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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. mate — a friend
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. face — to point toward
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mate — a partner
  7. shower — rain
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. shower — to wash
  10. face — to confront
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. stock — goods
  15. mate — to breed
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. stock — shares
  18. clip — a video
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. clip — for paper
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — of a plant
  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