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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. face — to point toward
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. face — to confront
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. land — to come down
  12. net — after costs
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. scale — in music
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. land — a country
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. land — ground
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bark — to shout

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