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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bark — to shout
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. field — for sport
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to confront
  13. field — farmland
  14. press — newspapers
  15. hand — help
  16. stem — to come from
  17. field — a subject
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. hand — in cards
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. press — to push
  23. press — a publisher
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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