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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. game — a match
  3. face — part of the head
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. perch — the fish
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. fall — the season
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. season — in sport
  14. fall — to drop
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — to point toward
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stem — to come from
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. rush — hurry
  21. season — of the year
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. game — wild animals
  24. fall — to drop

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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