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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pass — a permit
  5. face — to point toward
  6. rush — hurry
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. saw — the tool
  13. ball — a great time
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. face — to confront
  16. spell — letters
  17. ball — a dance
  18. spell — a short time
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cell — in biology
  21. face — part of the head
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. spell — magic
  24. cell — in a prison

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