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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. fine — all right
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fall — to drop
  7. face — to confront
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spring — the season
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mate — to breed
  14. rush — hurry
  15. mate — a friend
  16. face — to point toward
  17. stem — to come from
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — high quality
  20. spring — a coil
  21. face — part of the head
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. spring — of water
  24. fall — the season

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