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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. ground — the earth
  3. mark — a trace
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. face — to confront
  6. ground — a position
  7. mark — a grade
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. stem — to come from
  12. swing — to play on
  13. face — part of the head
  14. season — of the year
  15. ground — crushed
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. season — in sport
  20. chest — of your body
  21. swing — music
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. swing — in golf

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