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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. rule — government
  4. face — to confront
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. key — the most important part
  7. cell — in biology
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. object — a thing
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. object — an aim
  14. cell — a phone
  15. object — to protest
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. face — to point toward
  18. stem — to come from
  19. face — part of the head
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. key — for a lock
  22. rule — a law
  23. key — in music
  24. cold — the Cold War

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