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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. face — to confront
  3. kid — to tease
  4. face — part of the head
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. face — to point toward
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. roll — a list
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. roll — a cake
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. kid — child
  18. sharp — clever
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wound — an injury
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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