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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. face — to point toward
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. fine — high quality
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. face — to confront
  10. fine — all right
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. face — part of the head
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. foot — a measure
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bat — the animal

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