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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. bear — the animal
  3. face — to confront
  4. stem — to come from
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. face — to point toward
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bear — the animal
  15. file — a tool
  16. snap — to click
  17. net — for catching
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pitch — completely
  20. file — a line of people
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. file — a document
  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