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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cap — a lid
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. face — part of the head
  5. court — for sport
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. can — a tin
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cap — a hat
  11. spring — of water
  12. stem — to come from
  13. court — of law
  14. can — a tin
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. spring — the season
  17. court — of a king
  18. wake — a trail
  19. can — to be able to
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cap — of ice
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. stem — a stem cell

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