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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. degree — temperature
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. degree — an amount
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wake — a trail
  17. degree — from a university
  18. file — a document
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. pass — a permit
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. wake — before a funeral

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