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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bass — low music
  3. face — to confront
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. club — for golf
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. club — for dancing
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. face — part of the head
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bass — the fish
  21. face — to point toward
  22. wind — moving air
  23. club — a group
  24. stem — a stem cell

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