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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rule — a law
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rule — government
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. face — to point toward
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. face — to confront
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. season — in sport
  18. face — part of the head
  19. season — of the year
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. season — to add flavour

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