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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. field — for sport
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. field — farmland
  7. face — to point toward
  8. object — a thing
  9. rest — what's left
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. face — part of the head
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. object — an aim
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wind — moving air
  19. field — a subject
  20. object — to protest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stem — of a plant

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